The Sweden men's national handball team () 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, Magnus Wislander, Staffan Olsson 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 has together with France won the most medals at the World Men's Handball Championship with 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 TotalOlympic Games0 4 0 4World Championship4 4 4 12European Championship5 1 1 7 Total 9 9 5 23
Competitive record Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Olympic Games GamesRoundPosition 1936 Berlindid not enterNot held from 1948 to 1968 1972 MunichMatch for 7th place7th of 1662228287 −5 1976 Montrealdid not qualify 1980 Moscow 1984 Los AngelesMatch for 5th place5th of 126402145134 +11 1988 Seoul5th of 126402133109 +24 1992 BarcelonaRunners-up2nd of 127601165130 +35 1996 Atlanta2nd of 127601182141 +41 2000 Sydney2nd of 128701240197 +43 2004 Athensdid not qualify 2008 Beijing 2012 LondonRunners-up2nd of 128503228186 +42 2016 Rio de JaneiroGroup stage11th of 125104132131 +1 2020 TokyoQuarter-finals5th of 126402177176 +1 2024 Paris7th of 126303189171 +18 2028 Los Angelesto be determined 2032 BrisbaneTotal10/170 Titles654222116731362+211
World Championship World Championship recordYearRoundPosition 1938 GermanyThird place3rd of 43102813−5 1954 SwedenChampions1st of 633005636 +20 1958 East GermanyChampions1st of 16660013874 +64 1961 West GermanyThird place3rd of 1265018973 +16 1964 CzechoslovakiaRunners-up2nd of 16630310490 +14 1967 SwedenMatch for 5th place5th of 166402118112 +6 1970 FranceMatch for 5th place6th of 1663036968 +1 1974 East GermanyPreliminary round10th of 166303111113−2 1978 DenmarkSecond round8th of 166204121125−4 1982 West GermanySecond round11th of 167214159157 +2 1986 SwitzerlandFourth place4th of 167502174153 +21 1990 CzechoslovakiaChampions1st of 167601177143 +34 1993 SwedenThird place3rd of 167601166136 +30 1995 IcelandThird place3rd of 249801251201 +50 1997 JapanRunners-up2nd of 249702253187 +66 1999 EgyptChampions1st of 249810282202 +80 2001 FranceRunners-up2nd of 249801263207 +56 2003 PortugalSecond round13th of 247502204191 +13 2005 TunisiaMain round11th of 249414275234 +41 2007 Germany did not qualify 2009 CroatiaMain round7th of 249603277232 +45 2011 SwedenFourth place4th of 2410604272241 +31 2013 Spain did not qualify 2015 QatarRound of 1610th of 246312157133 +24 2017 FranceQuarter-finals6th of 247502233166 +67 2019 Denmark/GermanyMain round5th of 249702273222 +51 2021 EgyptRunners-up2nd of 329621276218 +58 2023 Poland/SwedenFourth place4th of 329702299237 +62 2025 Croatia/Denmark/NorwayMain round14th of 326222195173 +22 2027 GermanyQualified 2029 France/GermanyTo be determined// 2031 Denmark/Iceland/NorwayTotal28/324 Titles19313185450004137+863
European Championship European Championship recordYearRoundPosition 1994 PortugalChampions1st of 127700172133 +39 1996 SpainFourth place4th of 127403170156 +14 1998 ItalyChampions1st of 127601182158 +24 2000 CroatiaChampions1st of 127700198167 +31 2002 SwedenChampions1st of 168701235191 +44 2004 SloveniaMain round7th of 167403211203 +8 2006 Switzerland did not qualify 2008 NorwayMatch for 5th place5th of 167412208190 +18 2010 AustriaPreliminary round15th of 1630037884 −6 2012 SerbiaMain round12th of 166123157168 −11 2014 DenmarkMain round7th of 166402166158 +8 2016 PolandMatch for 7th place8th of 167223173168 +5 2018 CroatiaRunners-up2nd of 168404218216 +2 2020 Austria/Norway/SwedenMain round7th of 247403182169 +13 2022 Hungary/SlovakiaChampions1st of 249711252221 +31 2024 GermanyThird place3rd of 249603282255 +27 2026 Denmark/Norway/SwedenMatch for 5th place6th of 248512270240 +30 2028 Portugal/Spain/Switzerland To be determined 2030 Czech Republic/Denmark/Poland 2032 France/ GermanyTotal16/205 titles1137273431542877+277 *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 2026 European Men's Handball Championship.
Head coach: Michael Apelgren
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 Jonas Källman
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 2020–202413Michael Apelgren2024–
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.
See also Sweden women's national handball team
References
External links
IHF profile