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Egypt 2021 marks another first in IHF Men’s World Championship history

28 Jan. 2021

Egypt 2021 marks another first in IHF Men’s World Championship history

The level at the 27th IHF Men’s World Championship has been among the highest in recent memory, despite Egypt 2021 being the first-ever World Championship hosting 32 teams.

With only four games left in the competition, 5,623 goals have been scored and, counting out the six games lost by Cape Verde with 10:0 due to their withdrawal, teams have been scoring at a superb pace, with an average of 56.77 goals scored per game so far, the second-best in history after Germany 2007, when 57.88 goals were scored per game in the 92 matches scheduled.

Yet, the competition at Egypt 2021 has also brought up another milestone in the history of the IHF Men’s World Championship.

For the first time ever since the introduction of the semi-finals in the tournament, the four teams remaining in with a chance for the gold medal are coming in the final weekend without conceding a defeat in the competition.

Neither Denmark, nor Spain, Sweden or France left the court defeated in their first seven games in the event, despite facing tough opponents on their way to the business end in Cairo on Friday and Sunday.

Denmark and France are the only sides to have won all of their seven games, but as the competition progressed, their unbeaten status and their mettle were tested in the quarter-finals, when both teams drew at the end of the regular time.

The Danish side aim to repeat their Germany/Denmark 2019 feat, when they finished the tournament with 10 wins out of 10 games and a positive goal difference of +94. However, Denmark needed a last-gasp penalty goal from Magnus Landin Jacobsen in the final second of the fourth extra time half to tie the game against Egypt and progressed to the semi-finals only after a dramatic penalty shoot-out against the Pharaohs (39:38).

France also finished the tournament twice with unblemished records, winning Sweden 2011 with nine wins and one draw, but had a perfect tournament in 2017, as hosts, building a nine-game winning streak to lift the trophy for the fifth time.

Now, Guillaume Gille’s side are on a seven-game winning streak, despite needing overtime to overcome Hungary’s spirited challenge, 35:33.

Meanwhile, both Spain and Sweden are still unbeaten, but have drawn games at Egypt 2021. Prior to their game against Denmark in Cairo, the Spanish side had won six in a row, with their only blip on the radar being the 29:29 draw against Brazil in their first game at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Sweden are also unbeaten in seven games, but have drawn twice in the main round, 26:26 against Belarus and 28:28 against Slovenia. The Scandinavians have finished the World Championship unbeaten only one time in modern history – also in Egypt, 22 years ago, with eight wins and one draw on their way to win the event.

Since semi-finals were introduced at the IHF Men’s World Championship, the closest situation to the current one at Egypt 2021, has been recorded 22 years ago, also in Egypt.

Back then, Sweden took a 25:24 win against Russia in the final, as both teams, alongside Spain came undefeated in the final weekend in Cairo. Only Yugoslavia lost a game prior to their semi-final against Sweden, 26:23 in the main round.

Two years ago, at Germany/Denmark 2019, hosts Denmark and Germany were also unbeaten prior to the semi-finals, as finalists Norway and bronze medalists France had lost a game.