# 1970 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1970 World Men's Handball Championship was the seventh team handball World Championship. It was held in France between 26 February-8 March 1970. Romania won the championship.

## Qualification

| Competition | Dates | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host nations | | 1 | France |
| 1967 World Championship | 12–21 January 1967 | 3 | Czechoslovakia Denmark Romania |
| Asia | | 1 | Japan |
| Europe and Africa Qualification | 15 November – 7 December 1969 | 10 | East Germany Hungary Iceland Norway Poland Soviet Union Sweden Switzerland West Germany Yugoslavia |
| North America Qualification | 15–30 November 1969 | 1 | United States |
    $^1$First Canada was qualified but was disqualified because they used a Danish player.

## Results
### Preliminary round

| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 26 Feb | Saint-Nazaire | East Germany - Soviet Union | 13-11 | (8-6)0 |
| 26 Feb | Quimper | Sweden - Norway | 8-6 | (5-2) |
| 28 Feb | Rennes | Soviet Union - Norway | 10-9 | (5-4) |
| 28 Feb | Rennes | Sweden - East Germany | 11-9 | (5-4) |
| 1 Mar | Nantes | East Germany - Norway | 10-8 | (5-3) |
| 1 Mar | Nantes | Soviet Union - Sweden | 12-11 | (6-5) |
| Group A | Games | Goals | Points |
| Sweden | 3 | 30-27 | 4 |
| East Germany | 3 | 32-30 | 4 |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 33-33 | 4 |
| Norway | 3 | 23-28 | 0 |
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 26 Feb | Bayonne | Czechoslovakia - Japan | 19-9 | (8-2) |
| 26 Feb | Angoulême | Yugoslavia- USA | 34-8 | (22-3) |
| 28 Feb | Agen | Czechoslovakia - USA | 23-9 | (13-5) |
| 28 Feb | Agen | Yugoslavia - Japan | 17-17 | (10-8) |
| 1 Mar | Toulouse | Japan - USA | 21-15 | (10-7) |
| 1 Mar | Toulouse | Czechoslovakia - Yugoslavia | 16-15 | (8-11) |
| Group B | Games | Goals | Points |
| Czechoslovakia | 3 | 58-33 | 6 |
| Yugoslavia | 3 | 66-41 | 3 |
| Japan | 3 | 47-51 | 3 |
| United States | 3 | 32-78 | 0 |
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 26 Feb | Paris | Romania - France | 12-9 | (7-2) |
| 26 Feb | Rouen | West Germany - Switzerland | 11-10 | (7-3) |
| 28 Feb | Amiens | Romania - Switzerland | 22-7 | (9-6) |
| 28 Feb | Évreux | West Germany - France | 15-12 | (10-6) |
| 1 Mar | Caen | France - Switzerland | 15-12 | (7-3) |
| 1 Mar | Caen | West Germany - Romania | 15-14 | (5-9) |
| Group C | Games | Goals | Points |
| West Germany | 3 | 41-36 | 6 |
| Romania | 3 | 48-31 | 4 |
| France | 3 | 36-39 | 2 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 29-48 | 0 |
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 26 Feb | Longwy | Denmark - Poland | 23-16 | (10-6) |
| 26 Feb | Mulhouse | Hungary - Iceland | 19-9 | (9-3) |
| 28 Feb | Hagondange | Denmark - Iceland | 19-13 | (9-6) |
| 28 Feb | Strasbourg | Hungary- Poland | 15-9 | (4-4) |
| 1 Mar | Metz | Iceland - Poland | 21-18 | (14-9) |
| 1 Mar | Metz | Hungary - Denmark | 24-19 | (13-6) |
| Group D | Games | Goals | Points |
| Hungary | 3 | 58-37 | 6 |
| Denmark | 3 | 61-53 | 4 |
| Iceland | 3 | 43-56 | 2 |
| Poland | 3 | 43-59 | 0 |

### Placement Round (9-12 pos.)

The four third placed teams from the preliminary round played a round robin tournament for positions 9-12.
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 3 Mar | Paris | Soviet Union - France | 25-14 | (13-7) |
| 3 Mar | Creil | Japan - Iceland | 20-19 | (12-9) |
| 4 Mar | Paris | Soviet Union - Iceland | 19-15 | (8-5) |
| 5 Mar | Paris | Japan - France | 22-13 | (13-7) |
| 6 Mar | Paris | Soviet Union - Japan | 28-12 | (11-6) |
| 6 Mar | Paris | Iceland - France | 19-17 | (12-10) |
| Placement Round | Placement Round | Games | Goals | Points |
| 9. | Soviet Union | 3 | 72-41 | 6 |
| 10. | Japan | 3 | 54-60 | 4 |
| 11. | Iceland | 3 | 53-56 | 2 |
| 12. | France | 3 | 44-66 | 0 |

### Main Round

The top two finishers from each preliminary round group progressed to the quarter-finals. The winners progressed to the semi-final stage, while losers played for positions 5-8.
Quarter-finals
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 3 Mar | Paris | Romania - Sweden | 15-13 | (10-6) |
| 3 Mar | Orléans | East Germany - West Germany | 18-17• ET 16-16 | (11-8) |
| 3 Mar | Besançon | Denmark - Czechoslovakia | 18-16 | (10-7) |
| 3 Mar | Grenoble | Yugoslavia - Hungary | 11-10 | (5-6) |
Semi-finals
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 5 Mar | Lyon | Romania - Denmark | 18-12 | (9-6) |
| 5 Mar | Bordeaux | East Germany - Yugoslavia | 17-13 | (8-6) |
Bronze medal game
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 7 Mar | Paris | Yugoslavia - Denmark | 29-12 | (13-6) |
Final
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 8 Mar | Paris | Romania - East Germany | 13-12 (after extra time) | (4-5) 10-10 (11-11 during extra time) |

#### Positions 5-8

Semi-Final Round
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 5 Mar | Évreux | Sweden - Czechoslovakia | 12-11 | (5-7) |
| 5 Mar | Troyes | West Germany - Hungary | 15-13 | (8-7) |
7-8 pos.
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 7 Mar | Paris | Czechoslovakia- Hungary | 21-14 | (12-4) |
5-6 pos.
| Date | Venue | Game | Res. | Half |
| 7 Mar | Paris | West Germany - Sweden | 15-14 | (8-8) |
Source: International Handball Federation

## Final standings

Places 1–8 were decided by play–off or knock–out. Places 9–12 were decide by a placement round. Teams finishing fourth in the preliminary round are ranked 13 to 16. In case of a tie in points gained, the goal difference of the preliminary round were taken into account.
| Rank | Team |
| | Romania |
| | East Germany |
| | Yugoslavia |
| 4 | Denmark |
| 5 | West Germany |
| 6 | Sweden |
| 7 | Czechoslovakia |
| 8 | Hungary |
| 9 | Soviet Union |
| 10 | Japan |
| 11 | Iceland |
| 12 | France |
| 13 | Norway |
| 14 | Poland |
| 15 | Switzerland |
| 16 | United States |