After their joint best-ever ranking of fourth last time out – at the co-hosted Denmark/Sweden/Norway 2023 – the Swedish side will be hoping that Germany/Netherlands 2025 can provide at least one more step up the rankings and onto the podium.

Aside from it being their first-ever world championship medal, a top three spot could also be the perfect send-off for a quartet of Swedish stalwarts Jamina Roberts (35 years old), Nathalie Hagman (34), Linn Blohm (33) and Anna Lagerquist (32), who have been a crucial part of the Swedish women’s team in the 2010s and 2020s and for which 2025 could be their last world championship appearance.

All three took part in what was the easiest qualification tie for the global event in the European continental stage, with Sweden taking an 94:40 aggregate win against Kosovo across two legs. The first leg, held at home had already seen the tie decided by half-time, the Swedes leading 28:8, before finishing 51:16 winners. 

The away tie in Kosovo was a mere formality, coach Tomas Axnér’s women drilling home an impressive 43:24 (24:9) victory to set them on course for their preliminary group clashes against Cuba, Czechia and Brazil in Stuttgart.

“We’re really looking forward to this World Championship, and after our top finishes in recent years, we can’t go in with any other mindset than going for a medal,” said Axnér to ihf.info ahead of the event. 

“We’ve been so close so many times now, and I have great confidence in the team’s ability to succeed. We have an experienced group that has developed together year after year.”

Axnér has been a calm, guiding influence for Sweden since taking over the role in 2020. An 11th place at his debut event – the 2020 EHF European Championship was followed by a heartbreaking fourth place at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games the following year and then fifth at his debut IHF Women’s World Championship in Spain (2021) a few months later. 

This pattern has continued since with fifth at EURO 2022, fourth at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and fifth at EURO 2024 – invariably with Denmark, Netherlands or France standing in their way of a chance of a medal.

The coach will be hoping to break that 4-5 curse and finally secure a medal with his side – but he has time to achieve it if he does not manage it this year: he recently extended his contract until the end of 2028 and, if qualification is achieved for subsequent competitions will have led Sweden at 12 major championships, more than any other coach on the women’s side, only beaten by the legendary Bengt Johansson in Swedish handball.

Axnér, who started his playing career at 18, is the only player alongside Stefan Lövgren who scored over 1,000 goals in both the Swedish League and German Bundesliga and work in his national team role alongside that as head coach for Danish side Team Esbjerg, which he took over last year. 

Sweden face two final friendlies against Denmark – away (20 November) and home (22 November) – before world championship action commences against Brazil, Cuba and Czechia.

Czechia are the team they have faced the most times, winning 22 of their 24 accounts and drawing two. Two of those victories have come at an IHF Women’s World Championship – 36:32 in the preliminary round at Germany 2017, and 20:18 in the Placement Matches 9/12 in 1995. Two friendly matches in October 2022, saw Sweden win 36:20 and draw 26:26.

Brazil have been faced 11 times with eight victories and three losses, while both games against Cuba have been won by the Europeans.

Squad-wise Roberts is captain, with Axnér’s daughter Tyra included, along with Lagerquist, who is returning to action after missing both the Olympic Games and EURO 2024 due to injury. Goalkeeper Filippa Idéhn has also been named and set to play her first championship since the EURO 2020 – Ikast club teammate, right back Thea Kylberg is set to make her major tournament debut.

With that experienced quartet of Roberts, Blohm, Hagman and Lagerquist comes a number of possible landmarks at Germany/Netherlands 2025.

Blohm, currently sitting on 191 national team games for Sweden could make her 200th appearance at the global event, while Hagman (currently on 249 games) could pass Åsa Mogensen (254) and become the second most capped women’s player in history after Roberts (260 at the moment). Hagman finished top-scorer at the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship with 71 goals.

For Roberts herself, the world championship marks yet another momentous event in her life – her 19th major championship. Since making her debut back in 2010, she has not missed any major event her side have qualified for (they did not qualify for Serbia 2013) – even including when she was pregnant and gave birth to Lou in August 2020. Three weeks later she was back on court.

Key players: Jamina Roberts (left back), Johanna Bundsen (goalkeeper), Linn Blohm (line player), Anna Lagerquist (line player), Nathalie Hagman (right wing)

Coach: Tomas Axnér

Qualification for Germany/Netherlands 2025: European Qualifiers – Phase 2: 94:40 on aggregate against Kosovo

History in tournament: 1957: 8th, 1990: 13th, 1993: 6th, 1995: 11th, 2001: 8th, 2009: 13th, 2011: 9th, 2015: 9th, 2017: 4th, 2019: 7th, 2021: 5th, 2023: 4th

Group at Germany/Netherlands 2025: Group G (Sweden, Brazil, Cuba, Czechia)