# Sweden men's national handball team

The Sweden men's national handball team (Swedish: Sveriges herrlandslag i handboll) is Sweden's national team in men's handball and is controlled by the Swedish Handball Association. Its most successful periods were under coaches Curt Wadmark (1948–1967) and Bengt Johansson (1988–2004). The team under Bengt Johansson, nicknamed Bengan Boys in Sweden, is regarded as one of the finest national teams in the history of the sport with players like Tomas Svensson, Staffan Olsson, Magnus Wislander and Stefan Lövgren. From 1990 through 2002 the team reached the medal round in every championship (6 World Championships, 5 European Championships and 3 Olympic Games, earning 13 medals in total) and qualified for a record 8 championship finals in a row 1996–2002.
Sweden is the most successful nation at the European Men's Handball Championship with 5 titles, and at the World Men's Handball Championship has won a total tally of 12 medals, including 4 gold medals. Conversely, Sweden has yet to win an Olympic title despite participating in 4 finals (Sweden participated in the 1952 Summer Olympics in a demonstration match, defeating Denmark 19–11). The team has also won the World Cup 3 times, the Supercup 2 times, and were Intercontinental Cup winners in 2000.

## Honours

| Competition | | | | Total |
| Olympic Games | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| World Championship | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| European Championship | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 5 | 23 |

## Competitive record

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

### Olympic Games

| Games | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1936 Berlin | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| Not held from 1948 to 1968 ||||||||||
| 1972 Munich | Match for 7th place | 7th of 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 82 | 87 | −5 |
| 1976 Montreal | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1980 Moscow | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1984 Los Angeles | Match for 5th place | 5th of 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 145 | 134 | +11 |
| 1988 Seoul | Match for 5th place | 5th of 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 109 | +24 |
| 1992 Barcelona | Runners-up | 2nd of 12 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 165 | 130 | +35 |
| 1996 Atlanta | Runners-up | 2nd of 12 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 182 | 141 | +41 |
| 2000 Sydney | Runners-up | 2nd of 12 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 240 | 197 | +43 |
| 2004 Athens | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2008 Beijing | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2012 London | Runners-up | 2nd of 12 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 228 | 186 | +42 |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Group stage | 11th of 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 132 | 131 | +1 |
| 2020 Tokyo | Quarter-finals | 5th of 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 177 | 176 | +1 |
| 2024 Paris | Quarter-finals | 7th of 12 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 189 | 171 | +18 |
| 2028 Los Angeles | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined |
| 2032 Brisbane | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined | to be determined |
| Total | 10/17 | 0 Titles | 65 | 42 | 2 | 21 | 1673 | 1362 | +211 |

### World Championship

World Championship record :
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1938 Germany | Third place | 3rd of 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 |
| 1954 Sweden | Champions | 1st of 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 36 | +20 |
| 1958 East Germany | Champions | 1st of 16 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 74 | +64 |
| 1961 West Germany | Third place | 3rd of 12 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 73 | +16 |
| 1964 Czechoslovakia | Runners-up | 2nd of 16 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 104 | 90 | +14 |
| 1967 Sweden | Match for 5th place | 5th of 16 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 118 | 112 | +6 |
| 1970 France | Match for 5th place | 6th of 16 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 68 | +1 |
| 1974 East Germany | Preliminary round | 10th of 16 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 111 | 113 | −2 |
| 1978 Denmark | Second round | 8th of 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 121 | 125 | −4 |
| 1982 West Germany | Second round | 11th of 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 159 | 157 | +2 |
| 1986 Switzerland | Fourth place | 4th of 16 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 174 | 153 | +21 |
| 1990 Czechoslovakia | Champions | 1st of 16 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 177 | 143 | +34 |
| 1993 Sweden | Third place | 3rd of 16 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 166 | 136 | +30 |
| 1995 Iceland | Third place | 3rd of 24 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 251 | 201 | +50 |
| 1997 Japan | Runners-up | 2nd of 24 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 253 | 187 | +66 |
| 1999 Egypt | Champions | 1st of 24 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 282 | 202 | +80 |
| 2001 France | Runners-up | 2nd of 24 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 263 | 207 | +56 |
| 2003 Portugal | Second round | 13th of 24 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 204 | 191 | +13 |
| 2005 Tunisia | Main round | 11th of 24 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 275 | 234 | +41 |
| 2007 Germany | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2009 Croatia | Main round | 7th of 24 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 277 | 232 | +45 |
| 2011 Sweden | Fourth place | 4th of 24 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 272 | 241 | +31 |
| 2013 Spain | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2015 Qatar | Round of 16 | 10th of 24 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 157 | 133 | +24 |
| 2017 France | Quarter-finals | 6th of 24 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 233 | 166 | +67 |
| 2019 Denmark/Germany | Main round | 5th of 24 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 273 | 222 | +51 |
| 2021 Egypt | Runners-up | 2nd of 32 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 276 | 218 | +58 |
| 2023 Poland/Sweden | Fourth place | 4th of 32 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 299 | 237 | +62 |
| 2025 Croatia/Denmark/Norway | Main round | 14th of 32 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 195 | 173 | +22 |
| 2027 Germany | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| 2029 France/Germany | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| // 2031 Denmark/Iceland/Norway | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| Total | 27/32 | 4 Titles | 193 | 131 | 8 | 54 | 5000 | 4137 | +863 |

### Euro Tournaments

All teams in these tournaments are European,all World and Olympic Champions, and top 7 from World Championships and Olympics were participating. They were mini European championships at the time, till 1994 when official European Championship started.
    EURO World Cup tournament Sweden
* 1971 : 6th place
* 1974 : 8th place
* 1979 : 8th place
* 1984 : 4th place
* 1988 : 3rd place
* 1992 : Champions
    EURO Super Cup tournament Germany
* 1979 : 6th place
* 1981 : 6th place
* 1983 : 5th place
* 1985 : 8th place
* 1987 : 6th place
* 1989 : 5th place
* 1991 : 3rd place
* 1993 : Champions

### European Championship

European Championship record :
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1994 Portugal | Champions | 1st of 12 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 133 | +39 |
| 1996 Spain | Fourth place | 4th of 12 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 170 | 156 | +14 |
| 1998 Italy | Champions | 1st of 12 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 182 | 158 | +24 |
| 2000 Croatia | Champions | 1st of 12 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 167 | +31 |
| 2002 Sweden | Champions | 1st of 16 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 235 | 191 | +44 |
| 2004 Slovenia | Main round | 7th of 16 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 211 | 203 | +8 |
| 2006 Switzerland | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2008 Norway | Match for 5th place | 5th of 16 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 190 | +18 |
| 2010 Austria | Preliminary round | 15th of 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 78 | 84 | −6 |
| 2012 Serbia | Main round | 12th of 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 157 | 168 | −11 |
| 2014 Denmark | Main round | 7th of 16 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 166 | 158 | +8 |
| 2016 Poland | Match for 7th place | 8th of 16 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 173 | 168 | +5 |
| 2018 Croatia | Runners-up | 2nd of 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 218 | 216 | +2 |
| 2020 Austria/Norway/Sweden | Main round | 7th of 24 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 182 | 169 | +13 |
| 2022 Hungary/Slovakia | Champions | 1st of 24 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 252 | 221 | +31 |
| 2024 Germany | Third place | 3rd of 24 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 282 | 255 | +27 |
| 2026 Denmark/Norway/Sweden | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host | Qualified as co-host |
| 2028 Portugal/Spain/Switzerland | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined | To be determined |
| Total | 15/16 | 5 titles | 105 | 67 | 6 | 32 | 2884 | 2637 | +247 |
    *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty throws.
    **Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

## Team
### Current squad

Roster for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship.
Head coach: Michael Apelgren
* No.
* Pos.
* Name
* Date of birth (age)
* Height
* App.
* Goals
* Club
* 2
* LB
* Jonathan Carlsbogård
* (1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29)
* 1.95 m
* 79
* 156
* Barça
* 6
* P
* Felix Möller
* (2002-09-04) 4 September 2002 (age 22)
* 1.97 m
* 22
* 29
* Aalborg Håndbold
* 10
* RW
* Niclas Ekberg
* (1988-12-23) 23 December 1988 (age 36)
* 1.91 m
* 212
* 845
* Ystads IF
* 12
* GK
* Andreas Palicka
* (1986-07-10) 10 July 1986 (age 38)
* 1.89 m
* 168
* 19
* Paris Saint-Germain
* 13
* RW
* Sebastian Karlsson
* (1995-01-21) 21 January 1995 (age 30)
* 1.78 m
* 25
* 72
* Montpellier Handball
* 15
* LW
* Hampus Wanne
* (1993-12-10) 10 December 1993 (age 31)
* 1.85 m
* 106
* 434
* Barça
* 16
* GK
* Tobias Thulin
* (1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 29)
* 1.98 m
* 69
* 0
* Pick Szeged
* 22
* LW
* Lucas Pellas
* (1995-08-28) 28 August 1995 (age 29)
* 1.83 m
* 80
* 256
* Montpellier Handball
* 23
* RB
* Albin Lagergren
* (1992-09-11) 11 September 1992 (age 32)
* 1.86 m
* 120
* 356
* SC Magdeburg
* 24
* CB
* Jim Gottfridsson
* (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 32)
* 1.91 m
* 164
* 517
* SG Flensburg-Handewitt
* 28
* CB
* Jonathan Edvardsson
* (1997-04-07) 7 April 1997 (age 27)
* 1.90 m
* 29
* 18
* TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
* 29
* RB
* Edwin Aspenbäck
* (2000-08-07) 7 August 2000 (age 24)
* 1.96 m
* 4
* 3
* TTH Holstebro
* 33
* RB
* Lukas Sandell
* (1997-02-03) 3 February 1997 (age 28)
* 1.93 m
* 66
* 166
* Telekom Veszprém
* 35
* P
* Andreas Nilsson
* (1990-04-12) 12 April 1990 (age 34)
* 1.97 m
* 155
* 351
* Önnereds HK
* 42
* LB
* Eric Johansson
* (2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 (age 24)
* 1.97 m
* 40
* 110
* THW Kiel
* 45
* LB
* Olle Forsell Schefvert
* (1993-08-13) 13 August 1993 (age 31)
* 1.96 m
* 7
* 4
* Rhein Neckar Löwen
* 51
* GK
* Fabian Norsten
* (2000-07-11) 11 July 2000 (age 24)
* 1.96 m
* 7
* 0
* Aalborg Håndbold

### Notable players

* Per Carlén
* Björn "Lurch" Andersson
* Bengt Johansson
* Stefan Lövgren
* Mats Olsson
* Staffan Olsson
* Magnus Wislander
* Ljubomir Vranjes
* Pierre Thorsson
* Magnus Andersson
* Ola Lindgren
* Erik Hajas
* Johan Petersson
* Peter Gentzel
* Tomas Svensson
* Kim Andersson
* Martin Frändesjö
* Jim Gottfridsson
* Niclas Ekberg

### Coaches

| # | Coaches | Period |
| 1 | Herbert Johansson | 1938–1948 |
| 2 | Curt Wadmark | 1948–1967 |
| 3 | Roland Mattsson | 1967–1974 |
| 4 | Bertil Andersén | 1974–1979 |
| 5 | Ingemar Eriksson | 1979–1980 |
| 6 | Caj-Åke Andersson | 1980–1982 |
| 7 | Roger "Ragge" Carlsson | 1982–1988 |
| 8 | Bengt "Bengan" Johansson | 1988–2004 |
| 9 | Ingemar Linnéll | 2004–2008 |
| 10 | Ola Lindgren & Staffan Olsson | 2008–2016 |
| 11 | Kristján Andrésson | 2016–2020 |
| 12 | Glenn Solberg | 2020– |

## World and European records
### World records

* Longest undefeated streak in international championships (25 matches, Euro 1998 - 2000 Olympic Games).
* Longest medal round streak in major championships (14 tournaments, 1990–2002).
* Longest medal round streak in the World Championships (7 tournaments, 1986–2001).
* 8 consecutive finals in international championships (1996–2002).
* Most World Championship finals (8 - shared with France).

### European records

* 3 consecutive gold medals at the European championship (1998, 2000, 2002).

## Other merits

* First European nation to win a major championship title three times in a row (Euro 1998, Euro 2000, Euro 2002).
* 3 x winners of the World Cup (1992, 1996, 2004)
* 2 x winners of the Supercup (1993, 2005)
* 1 x winners of the Intercontinental Cup (2000)
* The first IHF World Champion (1954 - indoor handball) (Germany's 1938 victory was under the IAHF).
* The first EHF European Champion (1994).
* Defeated Denmark 18–12 in Copenhagen in the first ever international indoor handball game (8 March 1935).

## Kit supplier

From 2004 to 2015 Sweden's kits were supplied by Adidas, and 2016–2019 by Kempa. The current supplier is Craft.