# 1990 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1990 World Men's Handball Championship was the 12th team handball World Championship. It was held in Czechoslovakia from February 28 to March 10, 1990. Sweden won the championship.

## Qualification

| Competition | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host nation | 1 | Czechoslovakia |
| 1988 Summer Olympics | 6 | Soviet Union South Korea Yugoslavia Hungary Sweden East Germany |
| 1989 World Men's Handball Championship Group B | 6 | Iceland Poland Romania Spain France Switzerland |
| 1989 Asian Men's Handball Championship | 1 | Japan |
| 1989 African Men's Handball Championship | 1 | Algeria |
| 1989 Pan American Men's Handball Championship | 1 | Cuba |

## Teams

| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Algeria | Czechoslovakia | Cuba | East Germany |
| France | Romania | Iceland | Japan |
| Hungary | South Korea | Spain | Poland |
| Sweden | Switzerland | Yugoslavia | Soviet Union |

## Preliminary round
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 57 | +14 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 59 | 65 | −6 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 65 | −10 | 0 | Ranking round |
| 28 February 1990 | Hungary | 19–18 | France | Plzeň |
| 28 February 1990 | | (9–7) | | Plzeň |
| 28 February 1990 | Sweden | 20–19 | Algeria | Plzeň |
| 28 February 1990 | | (11–8) | | Plzeň |
| 1 March 1990 | Algeria | 16–22 | Hungary | Plzeň |
| 1 March 1990 | | (7–11) | | Plzeň |
| 1 March 1990 | France | 18–26 | Sweden | Plzeň |
| 1 March 1990 | | (9–13) | | Plzeň |
| 3 March 1990 | Hungary | 20–25 | Sweden | Plzeň |
| 3 March 1990 | | (8–14) | | Plzeň |
| 3 March 1990 | France | 23–20 | Algeria | Plzeň |
| 3 March 1990 | | (7–7) | | Plzeň |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Romania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 57 | +18 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 69 | 72 | −3 | 2 | Main round |
| 3 | Czechoslovakia (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 62 | −4 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 2 | Ranking round |
| 28 February 1990 | South Korea | 24–26 | Romania | Prešov |
| 28 February 1990 | | (12–12) | | Prešov |
| 28 February 1990 | Czechoslovakia | 12–13 | Switzerland | Prešov |
| 28 February 1990 | | (5–7) | | Prešov |
| 1 March 1990 | Switzerland | 17–21 | South Korea | Prešov |
| 1 March 1990 | | (5–11) | | Prešov |
| 1 March 1990 | Romania | 25–17 | Czechoslovakia | Prešov |
| 1 March 1990 | | (11–9) | | Prešov |
| 3 March 1990 | South Korea | 24–29 | Czechoslovakia | Prešov |
| 3 March 1990 | | (10–17) | | Prešov |
| 3 March 1990 | Romania | 24–16 | Switzerland | Prešov |
| 3 March 1990 | | (12–8) | | Prešov |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 61 | +5 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | Yugoslavia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 65 | +7 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Iceland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 69 | −4 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Cuba | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 76 | 84 | −8 | 0 | Ranking round |
| 28 February 1990 | Yugoslavia | 17–18 | Spain | Zlín |
| 28 February 1990 | | (9–6) | | Zlín |
| 28 February 1990 | Iceland | 27–23 | Cuba | Zlín |
| 28 February 1990 | | (17–8) | | Zlín |
| 1 March 1990 | Cuba | 27–28 | Yugoslavia | Zlín |
| 1 March 1990 | | (14–16) | | Zlín |
| 1 March 1990 | Spain | 19–18 | Iceland | Zlín |
| 1 March 1990 | | (11–11) | | Zlín |
| 3 March 1990 | Yugoslavia | 27–20 | Iceland | Zlín |
| 3 March 1990 | | (10–11) | | Zlín |
| 3 March 1990 | Spain | 29–26 | Cuba | Zlín |
| 3 March 1990 | | (12–10) | | Zlín |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 56 | +39 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | East Germany | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 73 | −3 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 63 | 68 | −5 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 86 | −31 | 0 | Ranking round |
| 28 February 1990 | Soviet Union | 26–21 | Poland | Žilina |
| 28 February 1990 | | (13–9) | | Žilina |
| 28 February 1990 | East Germany | 26–22 | Japan | Žilina |
| 28 February 1990 | | (18–7) | | Žilina |
| 1 March 1990 | Japan | 16–35 | Soviet Union | Žilina |
| 1 March 1990 | | (14–16) | | Žilina |
| 1 March 1990 | Poland | 17–25 | East Germany | Žilina |
| 1 March 1990 | | (9–9) | | Žilina |
| 3 March 1990 | Soviet Union | 34–19 | East Germany | Žilina |
| 3 March 1990 | | (15–10) | | Žilina |
| 3 March 1990 | Poland | 25–17 | Japan | Žilina |
| 3 March 1990 | | (12–11) | | Žilina |

## Ranking round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Switzerland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 56 | +20 | 6 |
| 14 | Cuba | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 72 | −3 | 3 |
| 15 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 65 | −12 | 2 |
| 16 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 63 | −5 | 1 |
| 5 March 1990 | Algeria | 20–20 | Cuba | Zlín |
| 5 March 1990 | | (8–11) | | Zlín |
| 5 March 1990 | Switzerland | 22–12 | Japan | Zlín |
| 5 March 1990 | | (15–3) | | Zlín |
| 6 March 1990 | Japan | 21–20 | Algeria | Zlín |
| 6 March 1990 | | (10–10) | | Zlín |
| 6 March 1990 | Cuba | 26–32 | Switzerland | Zlín |
| 6 March 1990 | | (11–16) | | Zlín |
| 8 March 1990 | Algeria | 18–22 | Switzerland | Zlín |
| 8 March 1990 | | (10–14) | | Zlín |
| 8 March 1990 | Cuba | 23–20 | Japan | Zlín |
| 8 March 1990 | | (10–13) | | Zlín |

## Main round
### Group I

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sweden | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 130 | 101 | +29 | 8 | Final |
| 2 | Romania | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 117 | 105 | +12 | 8 | Third place game |
| 3 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 110 | 108 | +2 | 7 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Czechoslovakia (H) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 107 | 116 | −9 | 4 | Seventh place game |
| 5 | France | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 109 | 115 | −6 | 3 | Ninth place game |
| 6 | South Korea | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 119 | 147 | −28 | 0 | Eleventh place game |
| 5 March 1990 | Sweden | 26–20 | Czechoslovakia | Ostrava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (15–9) | | Ostrava |
| 5 March 1990 | Hungary | 27–24 | South Korea | Ostrava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (14–11) | | Ostrava |
| 5 March 1990 | France | 21–25 | Romania | Ostrava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (11–12) | | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | Czechoslovakia | 21–21 | France | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (9–9) | | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | Romania | 21–24 | Hungary | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (10–13) | | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | South Korea | 23–34 | Sweden | Ostrava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (7–17) | | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | France | 31–24 | South Korea | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | | (13–12) | | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | Hungary | 20–20 | Czechoslovakia | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | | (8–10) | | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | Sweden | 19–20 | Romania | Ostrava |
| 7 March 1990 | | (9–12) | | Ostrava |

### Group II

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 109 | +39 | 10 | Final |
| 2 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 120 | 102 | +18 | 6 | Third place game |
| 3 | Spain | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 114 | −5 | 6 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | East Germany | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 106 | 111 | −5 | 4 | Seventh place game |
| 5 | Iceland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 101 | 117 | −16 | 2 | Ninth place game |
| 6 | Poland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 102 | 133 | −31 | 2 | Eleventh place game |
| 5 March 1990 | Spain | 24–17 | Poland | Bratislava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (12–10) | | Bratislava |
| 5 March 1990 | Yugoslavia | 21–20 | East Germany | Bratislava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (9–11) | | Bratislava |
| 5 March 1990 | Iceland | 19–27 | Soviet Union | Bratislava |
| 5 March 1990 | | (8–14) | | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | Soviet Union | 24–22 | Yugoslavia | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (11–8) | | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | Poland | 27–25 | Iceland | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (11–13) | | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | East Germany | 25–20 | Spain | Bratislava |
| 6 March 1990 | | (9–11) | | Bratislava |
| 7 March 1990 | Spain | 28–37 | Soviet Union | Bratislava |
| 7 March 1990 | | (14–17) | | Bratislava |
| 7 March 1990 | Yugoslavia | 33–20 | Poland | Bratislava |
| 7 March 1990 | | (18–10) | | Bratislava |
| 8 March 1990 | Iceland | 19–17 | East Germany | Bratislava |
| 8 March 1990 | | (8–12) | | Bratislava |

## Placement round
### Eleventh place game

| 9 March 1990 17:30 | South Korea | 27–33 | Poland | Prague |
| 9 March 1990 17:30 | | (13–13) | | Prague |

### Ninth place game

| 10 March 1990 09:00 | France | 29–23 | Iceland | Prague |
| 10 March 1990 09:00 | | (15–11) | | Prague |

### Seventh place game

| 10 March 1990 11:00 | Czechoslovakia | 17–16 | East Germany | Prague |
| 10 March 1990 11:00 | | (8–6) | | Prague |

### Fifth place game

| 9 March 1990 20:00 | Hungary | 19–23 | Spain | Prague |
| 9 March 1990 20:00 | | (8–10) | | Prague |

### Third place game

| 10 March 1990 13:30 | Romania | 27–21 | Yugoslavia | Prague |
| 10 March 1990 13:30 | | (10–12) | | Prague |

### Final

| 10 March 1990 16:30 | Sweden | 27–23 | Soviet Union | Prague |
| 10 March 1990 16:30 | | (11–12) | | Prague |

## Final standings

| Rank | Team |
| | Sweden |
| | Soviet Union |
| | Romania |
| 4 | Yugoslavia |
| 5 | Spain |
| 6 | Hungary |
| 7 | Czechoslovakia |
| 8 | East Germany |
| 9 | France |
| 10 | Iceland |
| 11 | Poland |
| 12 | South Korea |
| 13 | Switzerland |
| 14 | Cuba |
| 15 | Japan |
| 16 | Algeria |
* Qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics
* Qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics but banned due to UN sanctions
* Qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics as host
* Qualified for the 1992 Summer Olympics in replacement of Yugoslavia
* 1990 Men's World Champions
* Sweden Third title

## Medal summary

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Sweden Magnus Andersson Per Carlén Magnus Cato Johan Eklund Mats Fransson Erik Hajas Björn Jilsén Ola Lindgren Mats Olsson Staffan Olsson Jonas Persson Axel Sjöblad Sten Sjögren Tomas Svensson Pierre Thorsson Magnus Wislander | Soviet Union Vyacheslav Atavin Yuri Gavrilov Valeri Gopin Aleksandr Karshakevich Oleg Kiselyov Igor Kustov Andrey Lavrov Yuri Nesterov Konstantin Sharovarov Georgi Sviridenko Igor Tchumak Aleksandr Tuchkin Andrey Tyumentsev Valeri Vassilyev Andrei Xepkin Mikhail Yakimovich | Romania Dumitru Berbece Alexandru Buligan Ianos Cicu Vasile Cocuz Marian Dumitru Cornel Durau Adrian Ghimes Robert Licu Ion Mocanu Costica Neagu Nicolae Popescu Rudi Prisacaru Maricel Voinea Valentin Cristian Zaharia |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Goals |
| 1 | Julián Duranona | 55 |
| 1 | Aleksandr Tuchkin | 55 |
| 3 | Kim Jae-hwan | 50 |
| 4 | Philippe Debureau | 39 |
| 5 | Irfan Smajlagić | 38 |
| 6 | Djaffar Bel Hocine | 37 |
| 6 | Marian Dumitru | 37 |
| 8 | Javier Cabanas | 36 |
| 8 | Aleix Franch | 36 |
| 8 | László Marosi | 36 |
| 8 | Bogdan Wenta | 36 |