The Faroe Islands’s fairytale ended with their maiden medal at an edition of the IHF World Championships, as the European side became the smallest nation to be on the podium on such an event, with a 27:26 win over Sweden in the bronze medal match at the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship.

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Faroe Islands vs Sweden 27:26 (12:12)

It was a historic chance for the Faroe Islands, which could become the smallest nation in history to secure a medal at the IHF World Championships, provided they beat Sweden in the bronze medal match at Poland 2025. However, Sweden were no pushovers, and a strong defence lifted them until this point, with the Scandinavian side having one of the top centre backs in the competition, Axel Mansson.

Basically, it was a head-to-head battle between Mansson and Faroe’s centre back Oli Mittun for the top goal scorer title, with Mittun leading the way before the match with 64 goals, four goals more than Mansson. 

But Faroe had a small disadvantage due to their depth, as line player Isak Vedelsboel played, on average, 53 minutes per match so far, while Mittun averaged 47 minutes, statistics influenced by the lack of playing time of the two against Denmark, in the last match of the main round.

Yet with such a historic chance on the line, the Faroe Islands really delivered a strong match against Sweden, with the first half ending in a deadlock, 12:12, after Sweden led the way for most of the first 30 minutes, having the initiative and a well-rounded attack, anchored primarily by Mansson.

The centre back scored six times to lead the charge, with Sweden in the lead throughout most of the first half, as their opponents never took the lead. Faroe also missed two penalties in the first 10 minutes, with Sweden goalkeeper Arvid Skoog saving both shots, as Sweden took a 7:5 lead.

But when Mansson was replaced by Sebastian Durlanu, the Scandinavian side started to become leaky in attack, with their attacking efficiency dropping to 50% in the first half. This also coincided with Faroe Islands goalkeeper Alexander Lacok starting to save more and more shots, finishing the first 30 minutes with a 44% saving efficiency and nine shots stopped.

Mittun and Mansson were both locked at six goals apiece at the end of the first half, and while the Faroe Islands had two chances to take their first lead in the match, they missed a penalty and a one-on-one situation, with Skoog also improving his efficiency to over 40% and keep his team ahead.

But after three missed chances, Faroe got ahead, 17:16, through a Mittun goal, with the centre back scoring and dishing assists at free will, with his side opening their first two-goal lead, 20:18, after 44 minutes, with Mittun having, at that point, seven goals and six assists.

Even when they went ahead, the Faroe side continued with their seven-on-six gung-ho attacking tactics, and that proved to be pivotal, as they went on a 4:0 unanswered run, with a six minutes and 31 seconds fruitless attacks from Sweden, with Mansson properly contained by the Faroe defence.

With a 22:18 lead, Faroe Islands looked to be comfortable in the lead and it definitely helped that Sweden’s attack simply could not score in crucial moments, such as one-on-ones with Lacok, who continued his fantastic performance in the second half.

Despite four penalties missed throughout the match, the Faroe side stood tall until the end and eventually secured an absolutely otherworldly performance – a medal at a World Championship, with a 27:26 win, which will be etched into the country’s history forever.

The Faroe Islands became the smallest nation to ever clinch a medal at the IHF World Championships, after finishing seventh at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship an eighth at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, further fueling the fantastic legacy of this generation for the Faroese handball.

Player of the Match: Alexander Lacok (Faroe Islands)