2009 World Men's Handball Championship

The 2009 World Men’s Handball Championship (21st tournament) took place in Croatia from 16 January to 1 February, in the cities of Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. Croatia was selected from a group of four potential hosts which included the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania.

The opening game and ceremony were held in Split, and the final game was played in Zagreb. France won the tournament after defeating Croatia in the final. Poland took the third place after winning over Denmark. Tickets for the tournament went on sale from 15 to 20 November.^[1] For the finals, ticket prices started at 700 kuna (c. €95). To promote the tournament, the Croatian National Tourist Board launched a series of presentations in the capitals of 13 participating countries.^[2]

During the championship internal criticism arose against Hassan Moustafa, President of the IHF. The secretary general of the IHF, Peter Mühlematter, criticized Moustafa and asked for his demission. Moustafa asked to exclude Mühlematter after his criticism.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Venues

Seven Croatian cities were selected as hosts for the 2009 Championship: Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. The sites included the new Spaladium Arena in Split and Arena Zagreb, where the final took place.

Zagreb	Varaždin	Osijek
Arena Zagreb Capacity: 15,024	Varaždin Arena Capacity: 5,200	Gradski vrt Hall Capacity: 3,538

Poreč	Zagreb Split Osijek Varaždin Zadar Poreč Pula
Žatika Sport Centre Capacity: 3,500

Pula
Mate Parlov Sport Centre Capacity: 2,132

	Zadar	Split
	Krešimir Ćosić Hall Capacity: 8,600	Spaladium Arena Capacity: 10,941

Qualification

Qualified nations

Qualification occurred through the previous years’ continental championships or qualifying tournaments:

Host (1 vacancy)
World Champion (1 vacancy)
2008 African Men’s Handball Championship (3 vacancies)
2008 American Handball Championship (3 vacancies)
2008 Asian Handball Championship (3 vacancies)
2008 European Men’s Handball Championship (3 vacancies)
2008 European qualifiers play-off (9 vacancies)
2008 Oceania qualifying tournament (1 vacancy)

European qualifiers play-off

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Slovenia	62–63	Slovakia	33–33	29–30
Spain	63–56	Greece	32–24	31–32
Norway	61–52	Ukraine	29–22	32–30
Belarus	56–60	Russia	26–26	30–34
Montenegro	55–56	Romania	31–27	24–29
Czech Republic	62–62	Serbia	38–33	24–29
Poland	54–48	Switzerland	32–24	22–24
Hungary	54–49	Bosnia and Herzegovina	27–25	27–24^[8]
Macedonia	58–56	Iceland	34–26	24–30

Seeding

The draw for the groups of the preliminary round was held on 21 June 2008, in Zagreb. The draw took place at Zagreb’s central Ban Jelačić Square and was hosted by Filip Brkić and Kristina Krepela.^[9]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
Croatia (hosts) Germany (defending World Champions) Denmark (champions of Europe) France (3rd from Europe)^[10]	Sweden (5th from Europe)^[10] Norway (Euro playoff) Poland (Euro playoff) Hungary (Euro playoff)^[8]	Spain (Euro playoff) Slovakia (Euro playoff) Macedonia (euro playoff) Egypt (champion of Africa)	Romania (Euro playoff) Russia (Euro playoff) South Korea (champions of Asia) Brazil (champions of America)	Serbia (Euro playoff) Tunisia (2nd from Africa) Kuwait (2nd from Asia) Argentina (2nd from America)	Australia (Oceania qualifiers) Algeria (3rd from Africa) Saudi Arabia (3rd from Asia) Cuba (3rd from America)

Squads

Each nation had to submit a squad of 16 players.

Referees

On 12 October 2008, the match officials for the tournament were confirmed.^[11] But due to injury, the Swedish referee couple Rickard Canbro and Mikael Claesson had to withdraw from the championship, and was replaced by Danish couple Per Olesen and Lars Ejby Pedersen.^[12]

Referees
Belarus	Andrei Gousko Siarhei Repkin
Brazil	Jesus Nilson Aires Menezes Rogério Aparecido Pinto
Croatia	Matija Gubica Boris Milošević
Czech Republic	Jiří Opava Pavěl Válek
Denmark	Martin Gjeding Mads Hansen
Denmark	Per Olesen Lars Ejby Pedersen
Egypt	Moustafa El-Moamli Mohamed Shaaban
France	Nordine Lazaar Laurent Reveret
Germany	Frank Lemme Bernd Ullrich

Referees
Iran	Mohsen Karbaschi Majid Kolahdouzan
Lithuania	Mindaugas Gatelis Vaidas Mažeika
Poland	Mirosław Baum Marek Góralczyk
Portugal	Ivan Caçador Eurico Nicolau
Romania	Constantin Din Sorin-Laurenţiu Dinu
Serbia	Zoran Stanojević Slobodan Višekruna
Slovenia	Nenad Krstič Peter Ljubič
Withdrawn due to injury
Sweden	Rickard Canbro Mikael Claesson

German officials Bernd Ullrich (left) and Frank Lemme (right) refereed the opening match between Croatia and South Korea on 16 January.

Preliminary round

Ruksi, the caterpillar mascot.^[13]

All times are local UTC+1.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	5	5	0	0	168	106	+62	10	Main round
2	Slovakia	5	3	1	1	152	119	+33	7^[a]
3	Hungary	5	3	1	1	148	115	+33	7^[a]
4	Romania	5	2	0	3	141	135	+6	4
5	Argentina	5	1	0	4	133	137	−4	2
6	Australia	5	0	0	5	76	206	−130	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Hungary 24–24 Slovakia

17 January 2009 16:30	Slovakia	27–25	Argentina	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Straňovský 7	(12–13)	Gull 5
	3× 7×	Report	3× 6×

17 January 2009 18:30	Hungary	41–17	Australia	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Karbaschi, Kolahdouzan (IRI)
	Iváncsik, Zubai 7	(20–8)	Fletcher 8
	3× 3×	Report	3× 1×

17 January 2009 20:30	France	31–21	Romania	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Guigou, Karabatić 7	(12–9)	Toma 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 2×

18 January 2009 15:00	Australia	12–47	Slovakia	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Fletcher 6	(6–20)	Antl 8
	3× 4×	Report	3× 2×

18 January 2009 17:00	Romania	27–30	Hungary	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Pîrîianu 6	(16–13)	Nagy 8
	3× 1×	Report	3× 5×

18 January 2009 19:00	Argentina	26–33	France	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Kogovsek, Migueles 5	(15–19)	Guigou 7
	3× 2×	Report	3× 1×

19 January 2009 15:30	Romania	30–26	Argentina	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Karbaschi, Kolahdouzan (IRI)
	Ghionea 9	(15–13)	Kogovsek 7
	3× 4×	Report	3× 5× 1×

19 January 2009 17:30	Hungary	24–24	Slovakia	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	three players 5	(12–6)	Šulc 9
	3× 3×	Report	4× 3×

19 January 2009 19:30	France	42–11	Australia	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Abalo 10	(20–3)	Fletcher 4
	2×	Report	3× 4×

21 January 2009 15:00	Australia	20–40	Romania	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Blondell 8	(9–21)	Cozma 10
	3× 2×	Report	2× 3×

21 January 2009 17:00	Hungary	31–20	Argentina	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Mocsai 6	(17–8)	Kogovsek, Gull 4
	3× 3×	Report	3× 2×

21 January 2009 19:00	Slovakia	26–35	France	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Karbaschi, Kolahdouzan (IRI)
	Antl 7	(9–15)	Karabatić 9
	4× 7×	Report	3× 2×

22 January 2009 15:00	Argentina	36–16	Australia	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Torres 7	(15–8)	Fletcher 4
	2× 3×	Report	3× 1×

22 January 2009 17:00	Slovakia	28–23	Romania	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Kukučka 8	(12–13)	Ghionea, Pîrîianu 5
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4×

22 January 2009 19:00	France	27–22	Hungary	Gradski vrt Hall, Osijek Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	three players 5	(13–8)	Gál 5
	3×	Report	3× 1×

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Croatia (H)	5	5	0	170	115	+55	10	Main round
2	Sweden	5	4	1	162	118	+44	8
3	South Korea	5	3	2	140	126	+14	6
4	Spain	5	2	3	167	127	+40	4
5	Cuba	5	1	4	106	181	−75	2
6	Kuwait	5	0	5	99	177	−78	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Host

16 January 2009 20:30	Croatia	27–26	South Korea	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 12,000 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	Čupić 8	(14–13)	Park J., Sim 5
	3× 2×	Report	3× 4×

17 January 2009 16:30	Spain	47–17	Kuwait	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 8,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	García, Rocas 7	(18–9)	H. Al-Shamari 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

17 January 2009 18:30	Sweden	41–14	Cuba	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 3,500 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Källman, Lennartsson 6	(19–7)	Díaz 5
	3× 6×	Report	3× 4×

18 January 2009 16:30	Cuba	20–45	Spain	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Echevarría 5	(10–24)	García 9
	2× 8× 1×	Report	3× 4×

18 January 2009 18:30	South Korea	25–31	Sweden	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Lee J., Park J. 6	(12–16)	Källman 10
	4× 4×	Report	4× 10× 1×

18 January 2009 20:30	Kuwait	21–40	Croatia	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 10,000 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Al-Gharaballi, Al-Qallaf 5	(13–22)	Šprem 8
	2× 9× 1×	Report	2× 5×

19 January 2009 16:30	South Korea	34–19	Kuwait	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Yoon 7	(15–9)	five players 3
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

19 January 2009 18:30	Sweden	34–30	Spain	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	Doder 11	(19–13)	Romero 11
	4× 7×	Report	3× 3×

19 January 2009 20:30	Croatia	41–20	Cuba	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 11,800 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Čupić 11	(20–9)	Carol, Echevarría 5
	2× 2×	Report	2× 7×

21 January 2009 16:30	Cuba	26–31	South Korea	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 500 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	five players 4	(13–17)	Lee J. 10
	2× 10×	Report	3× 4×

21 January 2009 18:30	Sweden	30–19	Kuwait	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 6,000 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Larholm 6	(17–9)	Al-Hajeri 5
	3× 4×	Report	2× 2×

21 January 2009 20:30	Spain	22–32	Croatia	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 12,000 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Romero 5	(11–18)	Duvnjak 7
	4× 2×	Report	4× 8×

22 January 2009 16:30	Kuwait	23–26	Cuba	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 500 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	F. Al-Shamari, H. Al-Shamari 5	(9–12)	Carol 8
	4× 5×	Report	3× 6×

22 January 2009 18:30	Spain	23–24	South Korea	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 8,000 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Rocas, Romero 5	(15–14)	Oh Y. 6
	3× 1×	Report	4× 4×

22 January 2009 20:30	Croatia	30–26	Sweden	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 12,000 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	Čupić 8	(14–13)	Doder, Larholm 7
	4× 4×	Report	4× 5×

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	5	4	1	0	147	116	+31	9	Main round
2	Macedonia	5	3	0	2	145	136	+9	6^[a]
3	Poland	5	3	0	2	146	131	+15	6^[a]
4	Russia	5	2	1	2	143	145	−2	5
5	Tunisia	5	2	0	3	143	142	+1	4
6	Algeria	5	0	0	5	114	168	−54	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Poland 29–30 Macedonia

17 January 2009 15:30	Poland	39–22	Algeria	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Jurasik, Tłuczyński 6	(17–8)	Chehbour 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 7×

17 January 2009 17:30	Germany	26–26	Russia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 4,600 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Hens 9	(15–14)	Igropulo, Rastvortsev 5
	3× 5×	Report	3× 9×

17 January 2009 19:30	Macedonia	24–25	Tunisia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	K. Lazarov 9	(14–13)	Tej 6
	3× 1×	Report	4× 4× 1×

18 January 2009 15:30	Algeria	19–32	Macedonia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Chehbour 6	(8–16)	K. Lazarov 9
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4×

18 January 2009 17:30	Tunisia	24–26	Germany	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Hammed 9	(12–12)	Hens 6
	2× 7× 1×	Report	3× 6×

18 January 2009 19:30	Russia	22–24	Poland	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Krstič, Ljubič (SLO)
	Igropulo 6	(14–11)	three players 4
	3× 10× 2×	Report	4× 7×

19 January 2009 15:30	Poland	29–30	Macedonia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Bielecki, M. Lijewski 7	(15–16)	K. Lazarov 13
	3× 4×	Report	4× 4×

19 January 2009 17:30	Germany	32–20	Algeria	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Krstič, Ljubič (SLO)
	Jansen 6	(16–10)	Berriah 8
	4× 6×	Report	4× 4×

19 January 2009 19:30	Russia	36–31	Tunisia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Filippov, Kovalyov 7	(16–11)	Touati 9
	2× 7× 1×	Report	3× 4×

21 January 2009 15:30	Algeria	28–29	Russia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Boudrali 6	(14–17)	Filippov 9
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

21 January 2009 17:30	Macedonia	23–33	Germany	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	K. Lazarov 9	(14–13)	Glandorf 9
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 7× 1×

21 January 2009 19:30	Poland	31–27	Tunisia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 800 Referees: Krstič, Ljubič (SLO)
	Tłuczyński 11	(16–11)	Hedoui 6
	3× 3×	Report	4× 9× 1×

22 January 2009 15:30	Macedonia	36–30	Russia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	K. Lazarov 13	(15–14)	Igropulo 13
	3× 10× 1×	Report	3× 7×

22 January 2009 17:30	Germany	30–23	Poland	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Kraus 7	(14–11)	Tłuczyński 6
	3× 9× 1×	Report	4× 5×

22 January 2009 19:30	Tunisia	36–25	Algeria	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 300 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Touati 12	(18–11)	Bouakaz 5
	3× 3×	Report	2× 9× 1×

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	5	5	0	167	121	+46	10	Main round
2	Serbia	5	3	2	161	146	+15	6^[a]
3	Norway	5	3	2	162	123	+39	6^[a]
4	Egypt	5	2	3	110	126	−16	4^[b]
5	Brazil	5	2	3	128	158	−30	4^[b]
6	Saudi Arabia	5	0	5	107	161	−54	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Norway 26–27 Serbia
^ Jump up to:^a ^b Egypt 25–22 Brazil

17 January 2009 16:15	Norway	39–23	Saudi Arabia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Mamelund 8	(19–10)	B. Al-Harbi 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 7×

17 January 2009 18:15	Egypt	22–30	Serbia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	El Ahmar 8	(12–12)	Stojanović 6
	5× 6×	Report	3× 5×

17 January 2009 20:15	Denmark	40–27	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Christiansen 8	(19–12)	F. Silva 6
	3× 2×	Report	3× 5×

18 January 2009 16:15	Brazil	21–39	Norway	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Hubner, F. Silva 4	(8–17)	Bjørnsen 7
	3× 4×	Report	3× 3×

18 January 2009 18:15	Saudi Arabia	18–26	Egypt	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	B. Al-Harbi 9	(8–12)	Zaky 7
	3× 6×	Report	4× 3×

18 January 2009 20:15	Serbia	36–37	Denmark	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Ilić 10	(22–16)	Lindberg 8
	3× 8×	Report	2× 4×

19 January 2009 17:00	Brazil	32–30	Serbia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Ribeiro 10	(14–14)	Ilić 7
	3× 2×	Report	3× 2×

19 January 2009 19:10	Norway	30–20	Egypt	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,650 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Kjelling 9	(14–10)	Zaky 9
	3× 2×	Report	3× 6×

19 January 2009 21:15	Denmark	32–13	Saudi Arabia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 800 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Eggert 10	(17–4)	Al-Habib 6
	3× 1×	Report	3× 2×

21 January 2009 17:00	Saudi Arabia	24–26	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	B. Al-Harbi 9	(10–14)	Ribeiro 9
	3× 2×	Report	3× 6× 1×

21 January 2009 19:10	Norway	26–27	Serbia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Løke 6	(10–12)	Vujin 6
	4× 2×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2009 21:15	Egypt	17–26	Denmark	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Zaky 4	(7–12)	Christiansen 7
	3× 4×	Report	3× 3×

22 January 2009 16:15	Serbia	38–29	Saudi Arabia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 800 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Bojinović, Marković 6	(21–13)	Al-Habib 6
	3×	Report	3× 6×

22 January 2009 18:15	Egypt	25–22	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Zaky 6	(13–6)	Ribeiro 5
	3× 5×	Report	3× 5×

22 January 2009 20:15	Denmark	32–28	Norway	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 3,200 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Hansen 10	(16–14)	Kjelling 9
	3× 2×	Report	2× 4×

President’s Cup

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	5	5	0	205	98	+107	10	13th place game
2	Romania	5	4	1	175	141	+34	8	15th place game
3	Argentina	5	3	2	137	125	+12	6	17th place game
4	Cuba	5	2	3	124	154	−30	4	19th place game
5	Kuwait	5	1	4	119	157	−38	2	21st place game
6	Australia	5	0	5	87	172	−85	0	23rd place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

24 January 2009 15:00	Argentina	26–25	Kuwait	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 500 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Migueles 5	(12–12)	Abdulredha 6
	2× 4×	Report	2× 4×

24 January 2009 17:00	Australia	10–42	Spain	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 1,200 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Fletcher, Subotic 3	(6–18)	Ugalde 9
	4× 4×	Report	3× 3×

24 January 2009 19:00	Romania	39–28	Cuba	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Ghionea 12	(21–15)	Carol, Turiño 6
	3× 1×	Report	3× 5×

25 January 2009 15:00	Spain	31–19	Argentina	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 1,600 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	García 6	(15–11)	Viscovich 5
	3× 4× 1×	Report	3× 3×

25 January 2009 17:00	Kuwait	27–34	Romania	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Al-Qallaf, Al-Gharaballi 5	(12–16)	Ghionea 8
	3× 2×	Report	2× 3×

25 January 2009 19:00	Cuba	27–17	Australia	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 500 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Díaz 5	(14–6)	Fletcher 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

26 January 2009 15:00	Australia	24–27	Kuwait	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 200 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Blondell 7	(10–14)	F. Al-Shamari 7
	4× 4×	Report	3× 2×

26 January 2009 17:00	Argentina	30–23	Cuba	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 500 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Pizarro 8	(16–15)	Carol 6
	3× 6×	Report	3× 6×

26 January 2009 19:00	Romania	32–40	Spain	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Ghionea 7	(16–19)	Ugalde 9
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Egypt	5	4	1	135	125	+10	8^[a]	13th place game
2	Russia	5	4	1	151	127	+24	8^[a]	15th place game
3	Tunisia	5	3	2	159	146	+13	6^[b]	17th place game
4	Algeria	5	3	2	140	142	−2	6^[b]	19th place game
5	Brazil	5	1	4	131	137	−6	2	21st place game
6	Saudi Arabia	5	0	5	105	144	−39	0	23rd place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Russia 27–31 Egypt
^ Jump up to:^a ^b Tunisia 36–25 Algeria

24 January 2009 16:00	Tunisia	28–21	Saudi Arabia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 300 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Ayed 5	(12–8)	B. Al-Harbi 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

24 January 2009 18:00	Algeria	28–22	Egypt	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 300 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Berriah 7	(12–7)	Zaky 6
	3× 3×	Report	2× 2×

24 January 2009 20:00	Russia	25–22	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 300 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Dibirov 7	(15–9)	Gaeta, Ribeiro 4
	3× 5× 1×	Report	2× 4×

25 January 2009 16:00	Egypt	31–30	Tunisia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	El Ahmar 11	(15–14)	Ayed 9
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 6×

25 January 2009 18:00	Saudi Arabia	15–34	Russia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Al-Abdulali 4	(5–17)	Chernoivanov 8
	3× 2×	Report	3× 2×

25 January 2009 20:00	Brazil	28–29	Algeria	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 500 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Ribeiro, Ferreira 8	(15–10)	Boudrali 5
	3× 6×	Report	3× 3×

26 January 2009 16:00	Algeria	30–27	Saudi Arabia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 500 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Soudani 8	(14–12)	B. Al-Harbi 13
	3× 2×	Report	3× 4×

26 January 2009 18:00	Tunisia	34–33	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 500 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Touati 6	(18–16)	Ribeiro, Ferreira 9
	3× 3×	Report	4× 6×

26 January 2009 20:00	Russia	27–31	Egypt	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Igropulo 8	(12–16)	El Ahmar, Yousry 8
	3× 8× 1×	Report	3× 5×

Placement games

23rd place game

27 January 2009 15:00	Australia	19–23	Saudi Arabia	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 300 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Fletcher 6	(11–15)	B. Al-Harbi 6
	3× 5×	Report	3× 4×

21st place game

27 January 2009 16:00	Kuwait	24–27	Brazil	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 200 Referees: El-Moamli, Shaaban (EGY)
	Al-Gharaballi 8	(12–13)	Ribeiro 11
	4× 2×	Report	3× 3×

19th place game

27 January 2009 17:00	Cuba	27–34	Algeria	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 350 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Turiño 8	(15–18)	three players 6
	3× 4×	Report	4× 7×

17th place game

27 January 2009 18:00	Argentina	23–29	Tunisia	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 500 Referees: Opava, Válek (CZE)
	Migueles 5	(13–14)	Gharbi, Kraiem 6
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4×

15th place game

27 January 2009 19:00	Romania	42–38	Russia	Mate Parlov Sport Centre, Pula Attendance: 750 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Irimescu 8	(25–21)	Dibirov 12
	3× 6×	Report	3× 6×

13th place game

27 January 2009 20:00	Spain	28–24	Egypt	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Stanojević, Višekruna (SRB)
	Cañellas 9	(15–10)	El-Salam 7
	3× 2×	Report	3× 4×

Main round

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Croatia (H)	5	5	0	0	137	118	+19	10	Semifinals
2	France	5	4	0	1	139	112	+27	8	Semifinals
3	Hungary	5	2	1	2	127	135	−8	5	Fifth place game
4	Sweden	5	2	0	3	135	140	−5	4	Seventh place game
5	Slovakia	5	1	1	3	124	137	−13	3	Ninth place game
6	South Korea	5	0	0	5	119	139	−20	0	Eleventh place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Host

24 January 2009 16:30	Slovakia	23–20	South Korea	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Šulc 6	(15–12)	Lee J. 8
	3× 5×	Report	2× 2×

24 January 2009 18:30	France	28–21	Sweden	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 13,000 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Guigou, Karabatić 7	(16–10)	Andersson 5
	2× 3×	Report	3× 1× 1×

24 January 2009 20:30	Hungary	22–27	Croatia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Nagy 6	(12–14)	Čupić 6
	3× 3×	Report	4× 3×

25 January 2009 16:30	Sweden	30–31	Hungary	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	Källman 8	(18–16)	Ilyés 8
	2× 4× 1×	Report	3× 6×

25 January 2009 18:30	South Korea	21–30	France	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 10,000 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Kim T., Oh Y. 5	(15–15)	Abalo, Guigou 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

25 January 2009 20:30	Croatia	31–25	Slovakia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Hrvatin 6	(18–13)	Šulc 7
	3× 2×	Report	3× 4×

27 January 2009 16:30	Hungary	28–27	South Korea	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 800 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Császár 8	(11–14)	Lee J. 7
	1× 4×	Report	1× 2×

27 January 2009 18:30	Slovakia	26–27	Sweden	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 10,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Kukučka 9	(11–16)	Doder 11
	3× 5×	Report	3× 4× 1×

27 January 2009 20:30	France	19–22	Croatia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Junillon 5	(7–11)	Vori 8
	3× 2×	Report	3× 3×

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	5	4	0	1	156	145	+11	8	Semifinals
2	Poland	5	3	0	2	150	141	+9	6	Semifinals
3	Germany	5	2	1	2	147	133	+14	5^[a]	Fifth place game
4	Serbia	5	2	1	2	153	161	−8	5^[a]	Seventh place game
5	Norway	5	2	0	3	138	141	−3	4	Ninth place game
6	Macedonia	5	1	0	4	132	155	−23	2	Eleventh place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Germany 35–35 Serbia

24 January 2009 15:30	Macedonia	27–29	Norway	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	K. Lazarov 9	(13–16)	Tvedten 10
	4× 2×	Report	4× 5× 1×

24 January 2009 17:30	Germany	35–35	Serbia	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Jansen 10	(16–19)	Bojinović 8
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4× 1×

24 January 2009 20:15	Poland	32–28	Denmark	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Kuchczyński 9	(20–12)	Boesen 6
	3× 5×	Report	4× 4×

25 January 2009 15:30	Serbia	23–35	Poland	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Ilić 6	(7–21)	Tłuczyński 11
	3× 2×	Report	3× 2×

25 January 2009 17:30	Norway	25–24	Germany	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Krstič, Ljubič (SLO)
	Kjelling, Tvedten 7	(12–12)	Glandorf 6
	4× 5×	Report	4× 5× 1×

25 January 2009 20:15	Denmark	32–24	Macedonia	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Lazaar, Navaret (FRA)
	Christiansen 8	(13–12)	K. Lazarov 8
	3× 4×	Report	3× 6×

27 January 2009 15:30	Macedonia	28–32	Serbia	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Krstič, Ljubič (SLO)
	K. Lazarov 7	(16–15)	Ilić 8
	3× 3×	Report	3× 5× 1×

27 January 2009 17:30	Germany	25–27	Denmark	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Din, Dinu (ROU)
	Preiß 7	(14–14)	Lindberg 6
	4× 6×	Report	3× 4×

27 January 2009 20:15	Poland	31–30	Norway	Krešimir Ćosić Hall, Zadar Attendance: 4,200 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Bielecki 5	(14–14)	Kjelling 8
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

Final round

Bracket

Final, France vs. Croatia, 22:19, 28:11 min, Arena Zagreb

Semifinals		Final

30 January

Denmark	22
		1 February
France	27
		France	24
30 January
		Croatia	19
Croatia	29

Poland	23
		Third place

		1 February

		Denmark	23

		Poland	31

Semifinals

30 January 2009 17:30	Denmark	22–27	France	Spaladium Arena, Split Attendance: 11,000 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Jørgensen 5	(11–16)	Abalo 7
	3×	Report	2× 2× 1×

30 January 2009 20:30	Croatia	29–23	Poland	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Lemme, Ullrich (GER)
	Čupić 12	(14–13)	Jurasik 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

Eleventh place game

29 January 2009 12:30	South Korea	31–32	Macedonia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Jeong 7	(14–14)	K. Lazarov 15
	2× 3×	Report	4× 4×

Ninth place game

29 January 2009 20:15	Slovakia	27–34	Norway	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
	Kukučka 6	(14–18)	Kjelling 9
	2× 6×	Report	3× 5×

Seventh place game

29 January 2009 17:30	Sweden	37–29	Serbia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 5,300 Referees: Karbaschi, Kolahdouzan (IRI)
	Gustafsson 7	(20–16)	Vujin, Vučković 5
	4× 3×	Report	1× 3×

Fifth place game

29 January 2009 15:00	Hungary	25–28	Germany	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Baum, Góralczyk (POL)
	Nagy 5	(13–16)	Kaufmann 8
	3×	Report	3× 2×

Third place game

1 February 2009 15:00	Denmark	23–31	Poland	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 8,000 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Hansen 10	(11–14)	Bielecki 10
	3× 5×	Report	3× 3×

Final

1 February 2009 17:30	France	24–19	Croatia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Olsen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Guigou 10	(11–12)	Čupić 6
	4× 2×	Report	4× 3× 1×


France
GK	12	Daouda Karaboué	0/1	00:14
GK	16	Thierry Omeyer	10/28	59:46
LB	2	Jérôme Fernandez	2/3	42:09
P	3	Didier Dinart	0/0	33:19
CB	5	Guillaume Gille	0/1	45:00
CB	8	Daniel Narcisse	6/6	21:48
LB	13	Nikola Karabatic	2/5	54:25
P	14	Christophe Kempé	0/0	00:00
LB	15	Franck Junillon	0/0	00:00
RW	18	Joël Abati	0/0	00:00
RW	19	Luc Abalo	2/4	60:00
P	20	Cédric Sorhaindo	2/4	43:19
LW	21	Michaël Guigou	10/12	56:25
LW	24	Sébastien Ostertag	0/1	3:35
Coach : Claude Onesta

France	Statistics	Croatia
24/36	Goals scored	19/36
67%	% success	53 %
7/7	Jets of 7m	4/4
4 min	Suspensions	6 min
4	Yellow cards	4
0	Red cards	1
10/29	Total shots	7/31
34%	% total shots	22 %


Croatia
GK	1	Venio Losert	1/7	9:07
GK	25	Mirko Alilović	6/24	50:53
CB	4	Ivano Balić	1/2	18:34
CB	5	Domagoj Duvnjak	2/6	41:10
LB	6	Blaženko Lacković	4/7	29:43
RB	8	Marko Kopljar	0/0	7:29
P	9	Igor Vori	2/2	58:28
LB	10	Jakov Gojun	0/0	13:45
RW	13	Zlatko Horvat	0/0	4:17
LW	17	Goran Šprem	3/8	48:00
CB	18	Denis Špoljarić	0/0	5:23
RB	19	Petar Metličić	1/5	40:10
LB	24	Tonči Valčić	0/0	35:21
RW	27	Ivan Čupić	6/6	57:40
Coach : Lino Červar

Ranking and statistics

Final ranking[edit]

	France
	Croatia
	Poland
4	Denmark
5	Germany
6	Hungary
7	Sweden
8	Serbia
9	Norway
10	Slovakia
11	Macedonia
12	South Korea
13	Spain
14	Egypt
15	Romania
16	Russia
17	Tunisia
18	Argentina
19	Algeria
20	Cuba
21	Brazil
22	Kuwait
23	Saudi Arabia
24	Australia

2009 men’s world champions

France
Third title

Team roster

Jérôme Fernandez, Didier Dinart, Guillaume Gille, Daniel Narcisse, Guillaume Joli, Daouda Karaboué, Nikola Karabatić, Christophe Kempe, Franck Junillon, Thierry Omeyer, Joël Abati, Luc Abalo, Cedric Sorhaindo, Michaël Guigou, Sebastien Bosquet and Sebastien Ostertag.
Head Coach: Claude Onesta.

All Star Team

The All Star Team and MVP was announced on 1 February 2009.

Position	Player
Most valuable player	Igor Vori (CRO)
Goalkeeper	Thierry Omeyer (FRA)
Right wing	Ivan Čupić (CRO)
Right back	Marcin Lijewski (POL)
Centre back	Nikola Karabatić (FRA)
Left back	Blaženko Lacković (CRO)
Left wing	Michaël Guigou (FRA)
Pivot	Igor Vori (CRO)

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Shots	%
1	Kiril Lazarov	Macedonia	92	167	55
2	Ivan Čupić	Croatia	66	81	81
3	Felipe Borges Ribeiro	Brazil	61	87	70
4	Valentin Ghionea	Romania	58	87	67
4	Tomasz Tłuczyński	Poland	58	73	79
6	Bandar Al-Harbi	Saudi Arabia	55	100	55
7	Kristian Kjelling	Norway	54	102	53
8	Michaël Guigou	France	52	66	79
8	Momir Ilić	Serbia	52	100	52
10	Hussein Zaky	Egypt	50	98	51

Source: IHF

Top goalkeepers

Rank	Name	Team	%	Saves	Shots
1	Per Sandström	Sweden	44	52	118
2	Nándor Fazekas	Hungary	41	79	195
	Daouda Karaboué	France		41	99
	Richard Štochl	Slovakia		110	266
5	Mohamed Bakir El-Nakib	Egypt	39	62	157
5	José Manuel Sierra	Spain	39	54	139
7	Steinar Ege	Norway	38	95	249
7	Andreas Palicka	Sweden	38	44	116
9	Thierry Omeyer	France	37	91	244
9	Johan Sjöstrand	Sweden	37	56	150

Source: IHF

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
France	Croatia	Poland

IHF broadcasting rights

Croatia: RTL
Bosnia and Herzegovina: BHRT (BHT 1)
Brazil: ESPN Brasil
Denmark: TV 2, TV 2 Sport
Egypt: Nile Sport
France: Sport+
Germany: RTL, DSF
Hungary: Sport TV
Kuwait: Kuwait Sport Channel 3 and Kuwait Sport +
Macedonia: Sitel
Norway: TV 2, TV 2 Zebra and TV 2 Sport
Poland: TVP (TVP2 and TVP Sport)
Romania: TVR, Sport 1
Russia: NTV Plus
Qatar (Middle East): Al Jazeera Sports
Serbia: RTS (RTS 1)
Slovenia: RTV Slovenija
Spain: TVE (TVE2, Teledeporte)
Sweden: TV 4
Tunisia: Tunis 7

High Definition

Denmark: TV2 Sport HD
Poland: TVP (TVP HD)
Russia: NTV Plus HD
Qatar (Middle East): Al Jazeera Sports HD
Sweden: TV4 HD