Throughout the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship which started on Wednesday 13 January a total of 98* matches were played with some impressive individual and team performances.

Every single match - like all at Egypt 2021 - saw fans have the opportunity to help decide the ‘hummel Player of the Match’ award, via the IHF Official App with the IHF Analyst on site nominating a shortlist of three influential players with five minutes remaining and getting fans to vote.

Despite losing their quarter-final, Egypt have a unique 100% record of winning the award in all of their matches - seven in total. While no other team can claim this record, semi-finallists Denmark and Sweden, with six awards each, can still beat it if they take the award in their final two games. Spain, on five awards, can equal it if they win their remaining couple of games too.

The fourth semi-finalists, France, have won the award just twice while Bahrain and Cape Verde are the only two teams out of the 32 at Egypt 2021 who failed to take home an award.

Switzerland's Andy Schmid sits at the top of table with Denmark's Mathias Gidsel on three awards each, with the Danish right back able to be clear on top if he can pick up the award in either of his two remaining games. Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Palicka, with two, can also finish at the top alongside his teammate Hampus Wanne and Denmark's Emil Jakobsen.

Positionally-speaking, in the preliminary round, right-backs were the most favoured choice, while in the main round it was goalkeepers who were most popular. Overall, it is a close race between the positions with 21 (21.42%) for right backs and 20 (20.4%) for goalkeepers, while left backs (17) (17.34%) still have a chance of drawing level at the top.

And want to know what shirt to wear to be the best? It seems the number seven (#7) is really lucky - with seven awards so far.

Hummel Player of the Match awards – Egypt 2021
(up to end of quarter-finals, 98 games played/104 scheduled)

Per Team

7 – Egypt (EGY) - 1 team

6 – Denmark (DEN), Hungary (HUN), Sweden (SWE) - 3 teams

5 – Spain (ESP), Poland (POL), Switzerland (SUI) - 3 teams

4 – Croatia (CRO), Norway (NOR), Portugal (POR), Qatar (QAT) - 4 teams

3 – Argentina (ARG), DR Congo (COD), Iceland (ISL), Japan (JPN), Republic of Korea (KOR), Slovenia (SLO), Tunisia (TUN) - 7 teams

2 – Algeria (ALG), Austria (AUT), Belarus (BLR), Brazil (BRA), Chile (CHI), France (FRA), Morocco (MAR), North Macedonia (MKD), Russian Handball Federation Team (RHF) - 9 teams

1 – Angola (ANG), Germany (GER), Uruguay (URU) - 3 teams

0 – Bahrain (BRN), Cape Verde (CPV) - 2 teams

Per Position

21 – Right Back

20 – Goalkeeper

17 – Left Back

13 – Left Wing

12 – Centre Back

9 – Line Player (Pivot)

6 – Right Wing

Per Player

3 – Andy SCHMID (SUI), Mathias GIDSEL (DEN)

2 – Adam MORAWSKI (POL), Andreas PALICKA (SWE), Arkadiusz MORYTO (POL), Bence BANHIDI (HUN), Bjarki MAR ELISSON (ISL), Emil JAKOBSEN (DEN), Federico PIZARRO (ARG), Frankis MARZO (QAT), Gauthier MVUMBI (COD), Hampus WANNE (SWE), Kiril LAZAROV (MKD), Messaoud BERKOUS (ALG), Mohamed AMINE DARMOUL (TUN), Nikola PORTNER (SUI), Sander SAGOSEN (NOR), Sebastian FRIMMEL (AUT)

1 - (62 players)

Per Shirt Number

7 – #7

6 – #12, #15

5 – #16, #23, #33

4 – #3, #27

3 – #2, #4, #5, #6, #9, #10, #11, #20, #87

2 – #1, #8, #24, #55, #66, #71, #90, #94

1 – #13, #19, #22, #26, #29, #31, #37, #39, #42, #44, #79, #83, #91

Per Match

Date	Match	Player	Country	Position	Shirt #	Stage
13-Jan	EGY vs CHI	Yahia Elderaa	EGY	Left back	39	PR
14-Jan	BLR vs RHF	Udladzislau Kulesh	BLR	Left back	3	PR
14-Jan	ALG vs MAR	Yassine Idrissi	MAR	Goalkeeper	1	PR
14-Jan	AUT vs SUI	Andy Schmid	SUI	Centre back	2	PR
14-Jan	SLO vs KOR	Miha Zarabec	SLO	Centre back	23	PR
14-Jan	SWE vs MKD	Hampus Wanne	SWE	Left wing	15	PR
14-Jan	POR vs ISL	Miguel Martins	POR	Centre back	10	PR
14-Jan	NOR vs FRA	Wesley Pardin	FRA	Goalkeeper	24	PR
15-Jan	QAT vs ANG	Ahmad Madadi	QAT	Left wing	7	PR
15-Jan	ARG vs COD	Juan Bar	ARG	Goalkeeper	87	PR
15-Jan	ESP vs BRA	Haniel Langaro	BRA	Left back	37	PR
15-Jan	GER vs URU	Felipe Gonzalez	URU	Goalkeeper	16	PR
15-Jan	CRO vs JPN	Yuto Agarie	JPN	Centre back	33	PR
15-Jan	DEN vs BRN	Mathias Gidsel	DEN	Right back	33	PR
15-Jan	TUN vs POL	Arkadiusz Moryto	POL	Right back	23	PR
15-Jan	HUN vs CPV	Gabor Ancsin	HUN	Right back	33	PR
16-Jan	BLR vs KOR	Mikita Vailupau	BLR	Right wing	55	PR
16-Jan	EGY vs MKD	Hassan Kaddah	EGY	Left back	42	PR
16-Jan	MAR vs POR	Pedro Portela	POR	Right wing	4	PR
16-Jan	RHF vs SLO	Viktor Kireev	RHF	Goalkeeper	87	PR
16-Jan	AUT vs FRA	Vincent Gerard	FRA	Goalkeeper	12	PR
16-Jan	ALG vs ISL	Bjarki Mar Elisson	ISL	Left wing	8	PR
16-Jan	CHI vs SWE	Lukas Pellas	SWE	Left wing	22	PR
16-Jan	SUI vs NOR	Sander Sagosen	NOR	Left back	5	PR
17-Jan	QAT vs JPN	Frankis Marzo	QAT	Right back	10	PR
17-Jan	ARG vs BRN	Federico Pizarro	ARG	Right back	3	PR
17-Jan	TUN vs BRA	Mohamed Amine Darmoul	TUN	Centre back	71	PR
17-Jan	CPV vs GER	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PR
17-Jan	ANG vs CRO	Ivan Pešić	CRO	Goalkeeper	12	PR
17-Jan	COD vs DEN	Emil Nielsen	DEN	Goalkeeper	12	PR
17-Jan	POL vs ESP	Arkadiusz Moryto	POL	Right back	23	PR
17-Jan	HUN vs URU	Dominik Mathe	HUN	Right back	23	PR
18-Jan	MKD vs CHI	Kiril Lazarov	MKD	Right back	7	PR
18-Jan	KOR vs RHF	Jiun Kim	KOR	Right back	87	PR
18-Jan	SWE vs EGY	Mohamed Sanad	EGY	Right wing	91	PR
18-Jan	POR vs ALG	Messaoud Berkous	ALG	Left back	6	PR
18-Jan	FRA vs SUI	Andy Schmid	SUI	Centre back	2	PR
18-Jan	SLO vs BLR	Jure Dolenec	SLO	Right back	11	PR
18-Jan	ISL vs MAR	Viggo Kristjansson	ISL	Right back	7	PR
18-Jan	NOR vs AUT	Kent Robin Tonnesen	NOR	Right back	15	PR
19-Jan	JPN vs ANG	Jin Watanabe	JPN	Right back	20	PR
19-Jan	BRN vs COD	Gauthier Mvumbi	COD	Line Player	15	PR
19-Jan	ESP vs TUN	Angel Fernandez Perez	ESP	Left wing	6	PR
19-Jan	URU vs CPV	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PR
19-Jan	CRO vs QAT	Marino Maric	CRO	Line Player	3	PR
19-Jan	DEN vs ARG	Mathias Gidsel	DEN	Right back	33	PR
19-Jan	BRA vs POL	Adam Morawski	POL	Goalkeeper	94	PR
19-Jan	GER vs HUN	Bence Banhidi	HUN	Line Player	27	PR
20-Jan	SUI vs ISL	Nikola Portner	SUI	Goalkeeper	16	MR
20-Jan	MKD vs SLO	Urban Lesjak	SLO	Goalkeeper	90	MR
20-Jan	CHI vs KOR	Erwin Feuchtmann	CHI	Left back	4	PC
20-Jan	FRA vs ALG	Messaoud Berkous	ALG	Left back	6	MR
20-Jan	RHF vs EGY	Ahmad El-Ahmar	EGY	Right back	66	MR
20-Jan	AUT vs MAR	Sebastian Frimmel	AUT	Left wing	20	PC
20-Jan	POR vs NOR	Humberto Gomes	POR	Goalkeeper	16	MR
20-Jan	SWE vs BLR	Hampus Wanne	SWE	Left wing	15	MR
21-Jan	URU vs POL	Szymon Sicko	POL	Left back	9	MR
21-Jan	JPN vs ARG	Federico Pizarro	ARG	Right back	3	MR
21-Jan	CPV vs TUN	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PC
21-Jan	HUN vs BRA	Roland Mikler	HUN	Goalkeeper	16	MR
21-Jan	CRO vs BRN	Marin Sego	CRO	Goalkeeper	55	MR
21-Jan	ANG vs COD	Edvaldo Ferreira	ANG	Left back	79	PC
21-Jan	ESP vs GER	Raul Entrerrios	ESP	Centre back	9	MR
21-Jan	DEN vs QAT	Mathias Gidsel	DEN	Right back	33	MR
22-Jan	SUI vs POR	Andy Schmid	SUI	Centre back	2	MR
22-Jan	MKD vs RHF	Igor Soroka	RHF	Left wing	44	MR
22-Jan	MAR vs KOR	Kim Jinyoung	KOR	Right wing	26	PC
22-Jan	ISL vs FRA	Bjarki Mar Elisson	ISL	Left wing	8	MR
22-Jan	EGY vs BLR	Ahmed Hesham	EGY	Centre back	15	MR
22-Jan	AUT vs CHI	Sebastian Frimmel	AUT	Left wing	20	PC
22-Jan	NOR vs ALG	Sander Sagosen	NOR	Left back	5	MR
22-Jan	SLO vs SWE	Jim Gottfridsson	SWE	Centre back	24	MR
23-Jan	URU vs ESP	Aitor Arino Bengoechea	ESP	Left wing	29	MR
23-Jan	QAT vs BRN	Rafael Capote	QAT	Left back	9	MR
23-Jan	CPV vs ANG	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PC
23-Jan	POL vs HUN	Mate Lekai	HUN	Centre back	66	MR
23-Jan	ARG vs CRO	Ivan Cupic	CRO	Right wing	27	MR
23-Jan	TUN vs COD	Gauthier Mvumbi	COD	Line Player	15	PC
23-Jan	GER vs BRA	Johannes Golla	GER	Line Player	4	MR
23-Jan	JPN vs DEN	Emil Jakobsen	DEN	Left wing	7	MR
24-Jan	ALG vs SUI	Nikola Portner	SUI	Goalkeeper	16	MR
24-Jan	BLR vs MKD	Kiril Lazarov	MKD	Right back	7	MR
24-Jan	MAR vs CHI	Esteban Salinas	CHI	Line Player	11	PC
24-Jan	ISL vs NOR	Goran Johannessen	NOR	Left back	23	MR
24-Jan	SLO vs EGY	Yahia Omar	EGY	Right back	5	MR
24-Jan	KOR vs AUT	Jungu Kang	KOR	Line Player	83	PC
24-Jan	POR vs FRA	Andre Gomes	POR	Left back	27	MR
24-Jan	RHF vs SWE	Andreas Palicka	SWE	Goalkeeper	12	MR
25-Jan	BRA vs URU	Rogerio Moraes	BRA	Line Player	13	MR
25-Jan	BRN vs JPN	Tatsuki Yoshino	JPN	Left back	31	MR
25-Jan	COD VS CPV	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PC
25-Jan	ESP vs HUN	Gonzalo Perez de Vargas Moreno	ESP	Goalkeeper	1	MR
25-Jan	ARG vs QAT	Frankis Marzo	QAT	Right back	10	MR
25-Jan	TUN vs ANG	Mohamed Amine Darmoul	TUN	Centre back	71	PC
25-Jan	POL vs GER	Adam Morawski	POL	Goalkeeper	94	MR
25-Jan	DEN vs CRO	Emil Jakobsen	DEN	Left wing	7	MR
27-Jan	CPV vs KOR	Match Cancelled		Not awarded		PC
27-Jan	COD vs CHI	Adam Ngando Ouedraogo	COD	Right back	11	PC
27-Jan	DEN vs EGY	Ali Zein	EGY	Left back	90	QF
27-Jan	TUN vs AUT	Mosbah Sanai	TUN	Left back	19	PC
27-Jan	ANG vs MAR	Rezzouki Reida	MAR	Right wing	7	PC
27-Jan	ESP vs NOR	Rodrigo Corrales Rodal	ESP	Goalkeeper	12	QF
27-Jan	FRA vs HUN	Bence Banhidi	HUN	Line Player	27	QF
27-Jan	SWE vs QAT	Andreas Palicka	SWE	Goalkeeper	12	QF
29-Jan	FRA vs SWE	To be played				SF
29-Jan	ESP vs DEN	To be played				SF
31-Jan	TBC vs TBC	To be played				BRONZE
31-Jan	TBC vs TBC	To be played				GOLD

*Initially, 108 matches were scheduled to be played, but following the withdrawal of Cape Verde, their six games vs Germany, vs Uruguay, vs Tunisia, vs Angola, vs DR Congo and vs Republic of Korea were cancelled with 10:0 wins awarded to their opponents. No best player awards were given for these.

All information use data supplied by national federations at their pre-championship technical meetings. In-depth statistics can be found on the IHF Egypt 2021 mini-site HERE.

Photo: Egypt 2021