# 1986 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1986 World Men's Handball Championship was the 11th team handball World Championship. It was held in Switzerland from February 25 to March 8, 1986. Yugoslavia won the championship. The tournament was played in Aarau, Basel, Bern, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Davos, Geneva, Luzern, Olten, St. Gallen, Solothurn, Winterthur and Zürich.

## Qualification

| Competition | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host nation | 1 | Switzerland |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | 6 | Yugoslavia West Germany Romania Denmark Sweden Iceland |
| 1985 World Men's Handball Championship Group B | 6 | East Germany Soviet Union Poland Czechoslovakia Hungary Spain |
| Asian Qualification Tournament | 1 | South Korea |
| 1985 African Men's Handball Championship | 1 | Algeria |
| 1985 Pan American Men's Handball Championship | 1 | Cuba |

## Teams

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

## Preliminary round
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 70 | +10 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | East Germany | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 64 | +7 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 72 | +1 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Cuba | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 93 | −18 | 0 | Ranking round |
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | East Germany | 28–24 | Cuba | Aarau |
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | | (15–11) | | Aarau |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | Yugoslavia | 26–22 | Soviet Union | Aarau |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | | (13–11) | | Aarau |
| 27 February 1986 18:15 | Yugoslavia | 32–28 | Cuba | Davos |
| 27 February 1986 18:15 | | (15–13) | | Davos |
| 27 February 1986 20:00 | East Germany | 23–18 | Soviet Union | Davos |
| 27 February 1986 20:00 | | (10–13) | | Davos |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | Yugoslavia | 22–20 | East Germany | Lucerne |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | | (10–9) | | Lucerne |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | Soviet Union | 33–23 | Cuba | Lucerne |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | | (13–12) | | Lucerne |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | West Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | Switzerland (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 3 | Main round |
| 3 | Spain | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Poland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 57 | 59 | −2 | 1 | Ranking round |
| 25 February 1986 20:00 | Switzerland | 15–15 | Spain | St. Gallen |
| 25 February 1986 20:00 | | (4–8) | | St. Gallen |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | West Germany | 21–20 | Poland | Zürich |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | | (8–8) | | Zürich |
| 26 February 1986 20:00 | Switzerland | 18–17 | Poland | St. Gallen |
| 26 February 1986 20:00 | | (10–11) | | St. Gallen |
| 26 February 1986 20:45 | West Germany | 18–14 | Spain | Bern |
| 26 February 1986 20:45 | | (11–8) | | Bern |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | Poland | 20–20 | Spain | Winterthur |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | | (11–12) | | Winterthur |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | West Germany | 18–17 | Switzerland | Basel |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | | (8–10) | | Basel |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 65 | +11 | 4 | Main round |
| 2 | Romania | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Iceland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 71 | −6 | 4 | Main round |
| 4 | Czechoslovakia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 0 | Ranking round |
* 1 2 3 25% rule: South Korea +8 GD, Romania –1 GD, Iceland –7 GD
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | Iceland | 21–30 | South Korea | Geneva |
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | | (9–13) | | Geneva |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | Romania | 23–18 | Czechoslovakia | Geneva |
| 25 February 1986 20:45 | | (8–9) | | Geneva |
| 26 February 1986 19:00 | Iceland | 19–18 | Czechoslovakia | Bern |
| 26 February 1986 19:00 | | (10–8) | | Bern |
| 26 February 1986 20:45 | Romania | 22–21 | South Korea | La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 26 February 1986 20:45 | | (15–9) | | La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | Romania | 23–25 | Iceland | Bern |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | | (13–11) | | Bern |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | South Korea | 25–22 | Czechoslovakia | Winterthur |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | | (10–13) | | Winterthur |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Hungary | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 60 | +10 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Denmark | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 69 | 67 | +2 | 2 | Main round |
| 4 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 74 | −21 | 0 | Ranking round |
| 25 February 1986 18:00 | Sweden | 24–16 | Algeria | St Gallen |
| 25 February 1986 18:00 | | (11–8) | | St Gallen |
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | Hungary | 25–21 | Denmark | Zürich |
| 25 February 1986 19:00 | | (11–8) | | Zürich |
| 27 February 1986 19:00 | Denmark | 27–18 | Algeria | Zürich |
| 27 February 1986 19:00 | | (13–8) | | Zürich |
| 27 February 1986 20:45 | Hungary | 23–22 | Sweden | Zürich |
| 27 February 1986 20:45 | | (9–12) | | Zürich |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | Hungary | 23–19 | Algeria | Basel |
| 28 February 1986 19:00 | | (12–13) | | Basel |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | Sweden | 24–21 | Denmark | Bern |
| 28 February 1986 20:45 | | (12–11) | | Bern |

## Ranking round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Czechoslovakia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 64 | +10 | 6 |
| 14 | Poland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 77 | 69 | +8 | 4 |
| 15 | Cuba | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 71 | 78 | −7 | 2 |
| 16 | Algeria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 66 | 77 | −11 | 0 |
| 2 March 1986 17:00 | Cuba | 23–27 | Czechoslovakia | Solothurn |
| 2 March 1986 17:00 | | (9–16) | | Solothurn |
| 2 March 1986 17:00 | Poland | 28–23 | Algeria | La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 2 March 1986 17:00 | | (13–6) | | La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | Cuba | 25–24 | Algeria | Winterthur |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | | (10–16) | | Winterthur |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | Poland | 22–23 | Czechoslovakia | Geneva |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | | (13–10) | | Geneva |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | Czechoslovakia | 24–19 | Algeria | Lucerne |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | | (9-8) | | Lucerne |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | Poland | 27–23 | Cuba | Aarau |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | | (16 - 10) | | Aarau |

## Main round
### Group I

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 95 | +17 | 10 | Final |
| 2 | East Germany | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 92 | +17 | 6 | Third place game |
| 3 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 87 | +5 | 5 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | West Germany | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 97 | −9 | 4 | Seventh place game |
| 5 | Soviet Union | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 104 | 109 | −5 | 4 | Ninth place game |
| 6 | Switzerland (H) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 82 | 107 | −25 | 1 | Eleventh place game |
* 1 2 25% rule: West Germany –8 GD, Soviet Union –14 GD
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | East Germany | 23–16 | Switzerland | Basel |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | | (11–6) | | Basel |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | Soviet Union | 23–20 | West Germany | Zürich |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | | (8–10) | | Zürich |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | Yugoslavia | 18–17 | Spain | Bern |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | | (10–8) | | Bern |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | East Germany | 24–15 | West Germany | Olten |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | | (11–7) | | Olten |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | Switzerland | 19–27 | Yugoslavia | Olten |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | | (7–15) | | Olten |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | Soviet Union | 17–25 | Spain | Lucerne |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | | (8–11) | | Lucerne |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | Yugoslavia | 19–17 | West Germany | Lucerne |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | | (9–8) | | Lucerne |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | East Germany | 19–21 | Spain | Bern |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | | (13–11) | | Bern |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | Soviet Union | 24–15 | Switzerland | St. Gallen |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | | (8–8) | | St. Gallen |

### Group II

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Hungary | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 108 | +14 | 10 | Final |
| 2 | Sweden | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 93 | +19 | 8 | Third place game |
| 3 | Iceland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 117 | −3 | 4 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Denmark | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 107 | 117 | −10 | 4 | Seventh place game |
| 5 | Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 78 | 93 | −15 | 2 | Ninth place game |
| 6 | South Korea | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 132 | 137 | −5 | 2 | Eleventh place game |
* 1 2 25% rule: Iceland +4 GD, Denmark –16 GD
* 1 2 25% rule: Romania +1 GD, South Korea –1 GD
| 2 March 1986 14:35 | Romania | 20–25 | Sweden | Aarau |
| 2 March 1986 14:35 | | (11–11) | | Aarau |
| 2 March 1986 14:45 | Iceland | 20–21 | Hungary | Zürich |
| 2 March 1986 14:45 | | (12–11) | | Zürich |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | South Korea | 27–31 | Denmark | Aarau |
| 2 March 1986 16:30 | | (17–18) | | Aarau |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | Iceland | 25–16 | Denmark | Lucerne |
| 4 March 1986 19:00 | | (10–10) | | Lucerne |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | Romania | 17–19 | Hungary | Geneva |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | | (9–10) | | Geneva |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | South Korea | 26–29 | Sweden | Winterthur |
| 4 March 1986 20:45 | | (15–12) | | Winterthur |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | South Korea | 28–34 | Hungary | St. Gallen |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | | (16–16) | | St. Gallen |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | Iceland | 23–27 | Sweden | Bern |
| 6 March 1986 19:00 | | (9–15) | | Bern |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | Romania | 16–18 | Denmark | Aarau |
| 6 March 1986 20:45 | | (7–10) | | Aarau |

## Final round
### Eleventh place game

| 8 March 1986 14:30 | Switzerland | 27–22 | South Korea | Zürich |
| 8 March 1986 14:30 | | (14–11) | | Zürich |

### Ninth place game

| 7 March 1986 19:00 | Romania | 25–21 | Soviet Union | Olten |
| 7 March 1986 19:00 | | (12–10) | | Olten |

### Seventh place game

| 7 March 1986 19:00 | West Germany | 25–18 | Denmark | Basel |
| 7 March 1986 19:00 | | (11–10) | | Basel |

### Fifth place game

| 7 March 1986 20:45 | Spain | 24–22 | Iceland | Olten |
| 7 March 1986 20:45 | | (10–10) | | Olten |

### Third place game

| 7 March 1986 20:45 | East Germany | 24–23 | Sweden | Basel |
| 7 March 1986 20:45 | | (13–11) | | Basel |

### Final

| 8 March 1986 16:30 | Yugoslavia | 24–22 | Hungary | Zürich |
| 8 March 1986 16:30 | Rnić (1), Vuković (1), Saračević (2), Grubić (1), Mrkonja (3), Vujović (4), Cvetković (6), Isaković (6 dont 3 pen.). | (12–12) | P. Kovács (5), M. Kovács (3), Fodor (1), Iváncsik (5), Szabó (1), Horváth (3), Gyurka (2), Marosi (2). | Zürich |
| 8 March 1986 16:30 | | Report | | Zürich |

## Final standings

| Rank | Team |
| | Yugoslavia |
| | Hungary |
| | East Germany |
| 4 | Sweden |
| 5 | Spain |
| 6 | Iceland |
| 7 | West Germany |
| 8 | Denmark |
| 9 | Romania |
| 10 | Soviet Union |
| 11 | Switzerland |
| 12 | South Korea |
| 13 | Czechoslovakia |
| 14 | Poland |
| 15 | Cuba |
| 16 | Algeria |
* Qualified for the 1988 Summer Olympics
* Qualified for the 1987 World Men's Handball Championship Group B
* 1986 Men's World Champions
* Yugoslavia First title

## Medal summary

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Yugoslavia Zlatan Arnautović Mirko Bašić Jovica Cvetković Jovica Elezović Časlav Grubić Jožef Holpert Mile Isaković Muhamed Memić Dragan Mladenović Jasmin Mrkonja Zlatko Portner Rolando Pušnik Momir Rnić Zlatko Saračević Veselin Vujović Veselin Vuković | Hungary Imre Bíró József Bordás Viktor Debre János Fodor János Gyurka László Hoffmann Gábor Horváth Mihály Iváncsik József Kenyeres Zsolt Kontra Mihály Kovács Péter Kovács László Marosi Tibor Oross László Szabó | East Germany Heiko Bonath Rüdiger Borchardt Stephan Hauck Peter Hofmann Andreas Köckeritz Hartmut Krüger Andreas Nagora Peter Pysall Gunnar Schimrock Wieland Schmidt Dirk Schnell Klaus-Dieter Schulz Frank-Michael Wahl Ingolf Wiegert Holger Winselmann Thomas Zeise |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Goals |
| 1 | Kang Jae-won | 67 |
| 2 | Roberto Julián Duranona | 50 |
| 3 | Björn Jilsén | 47 |
| 4 | Péter Kovács | 45 |
| 5 | Kristján Arason | 41 |
| 6 | Ingolf Wiegert | 40 |
| 6 | Maricel Voinea | 40 |
| 8 | Jovica Cvetković | 37 |
| 9 | Michael Fenger | 35 |
| 9 | Peter Weber | 35 |