Examining Group H: Well-balanced group sees reigning champions Denmark as favourites

Two European, one African and one Asian side are facing off in Group H of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship in Poland and Sweden, with three places up for grabs for the main round. It projects to be a well-balanced group, where surprises can be sprung.

The favourites are undoubtedly Denmark, the European powerhouse which won the tournament in the past two editions, at Denmark/Germany 2019 and Egypt 2021, without dropping a single match.

The reigning world champions are on an 18-match winning streak at the world handball flagship competition and look likely to extend it in the group phase at Poland/Sweden 2023, where they will be favoured against all three opponents they are facing in the competition.

Denmark have faced Tunisia six times in competitive matches at the IHF Men’s World Championship or the Olympic Games and have won five of those matches. The only loss came in 2005, when Tunisia had their best result in the competition, finishing fourth.

Back then, Tunisia delivered a huge surprise in the preliminary round, taking a 25:22 win. However, since then, they have lost all the matches played against Denmark by at least seven goals, with a 23:30 loss at Spain 2013, 22:36 loss at Denmark/Germany 2019 and a painful 23:31 loss at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

With a strong side named by coach Nikolaj Jacobsen and including the MVP of the last two editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, Mikkel Hansen, and the MVP of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Mathias Gidsel, who will come back after an injury, Denmark definitely look strong and will be eyeing to secure their fifth win in a row against Bahrain.

The Asian side, who qualified for the fifth time in the last six editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, lost all their matches in the last five years against Denmark, including two in 2021.

First, Denmark took a 34:20 win at Egypt 2021, then doubled down with a 31:21 win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In total, they won four out of four against Bahrain, with an average winning margin of 7.5 goals per match.

Belgium’s unprecedented rise to stardom, which includes making their debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship, means they will also face Denmark for the first time in their history.

The European side, who beat Slovakia in a doubleheader in the Qualification Europe Phase 1 to qualify for the world championship, has never faced Denmark in any final competition or the Qualification Phase of said events and will have a baptism of fire, making their debut against the reigning world champions.

Having played and lost against other Scandinavian powerhouses like Norway and Sweden in the Qualification Phase for the EHF EURO over the past decade, Belgium has yet to stand a chance and they will have a mountain to climb against a motivated Denmark side.

Belgium have also never met Tunisia or Bahrain in a competitive or friendly match, which could be a double-edged sword: they lack any experience whatsoever at this level. Still, they have all the ingredients to surprise aside.

Last but not least, Tunisia have never made it into the top 10 of the final standings at the IHF Men’s World Championship since finishing fourth in 2005, when they hosted the competition, but displayed excellent form in Poland at a friendly tournament in the last days of 2022 when they secured the trophy after winning against the hosts, Brazil and the Republic of Korea.

They will hope for a good start also against Bahrain, a team they won against at Sweden 2011, the first edition of the competition the Asian side participated in. Five years ago, in a friendly match between the two sides in January 2018, Bahrain took a narrow 25:24 win against Tunisia, but the African side looks to be the favourite to start Poland/Sweden 2023 with a win.

Photos: IHF/ Handball Federation Belgium