2025 Handball World Cup: Key Takeaways & Review

As you know, you shouldn’t argue about taste. Especially not when it comes to music. But: “Bella Napoli”, “Wackelkontakt” and “The train has no brakes” (Mallorca style edit!) in one game?

Almost one after the other? Aesthetes in Stuttgart and Dortmund would have covered their ears. The audience liked being treated to such sound – and so did the players.

At the end of the World Cup tournament they let it rip again themselves. And that despite the fact that the final against Olympic champions Norway was lost 20:23 on Sunday evening. Their party bus still drove through Rotterdam honking and with booming bass, and the silver medal winners danced a lot of joy on the dance floor in the bar “1NUL8 Meent”. “We win the third half,” said backcourt player Viola Leuchter.

Especially in the Porsche Arena and in the Dortmund quarter-final against Brazil, the people in the hall were the eighth woman at this handball world championship in Germany and the Netherlands. This also applied to the opponents: “It’s great to be able to play in this handball-crazy country,” said the Icelandic women’s coach. And that after their defeat against Germany.

Highly turned controls and a loud hall announcer (“Germany!”, “Everyone out of their seats!”) are part of the DHB international game setting that takes getting used to but is accepted. In addition, players get to touch each other – whether after the final siren or in the so-called fan village. Antje Döll, Emily Vogel and everyone else were happy to fulfill wishes and make children’s eyes shine. The days of Trier, Stuttgart and Dortmund were a festival of shapes and colors. Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena lit up in orange on the final weekend.

Once again, this world trade fair for women’s handball was – with a few exceptions – an ode to fairness. And a proof of German class: Even if little else seems to be working in this country (probably more than our “negativity” lets us see), you can rely on German organization: The Montenegrin association president only half-jokingly asked whether every World Cup could take place here from now on. He praised transportation, food and hotels.

This was reported by the CEO of the German Handball Federation (DHB) Mark Schober. 40 employees in the DHB core team helped to make the World Cup a sporting, atmospheric and financial success.

The expected loss of around one million euros, which DHB President Andreas Michelmann describes as an investment in women’s handball, was reduced by the good hall occupancy – after all, ticket revenue is the only thing the DHB has left: At 70 percent, it was above the planned 66.6 percent and again made Schober rejoice: “After the highlight European Championship in January 2024 (for the men, ed.), we thought about what would come next. Yes Something happened! And we won’t stop. We’ll continue with the 2028 Junior World Cup (together with France, editor) and the 2032 European Championships.”

In seven years the final round of the 20th European Championship will take place in Germany. Unlike the final round of this World Cup, which was given to the junior partner Netherlands so that they would also achieve financial windfall benefits – the final weekend in Rotterdam was sold out in any case. Such piggyback solutions from several countries are common practice: the European Championships in one year are shared by five nations.

However, DHB representatives reacted with pique when asked about the level of play at this year’s World Cup. Because the trend is for the good ones to get better. And so they left the non-European teams behind. Sure, there were goals for Paraguay and saves for Uruguay that made each player shine. The quality in these games is exceeded by every German training session. The quarterfinals could have been filled before the tournament. Surprises? There wasn’t.

Individual games were of a higher class. This was also because the referees whistled more generously than in the Handball Bundesliga (HBL). This meant that hard defensive work was permitted within the rules. “Rabbit handball” with endless running and 70 or more goals – a horror for purists – did not happen. Maybe this is a blueprint for HBL and its women’s counterpart.

National coach Markus Gaugisch left the outsiders unnamed in his verdict. He praised the creative style of the Faroe Islands and the progress of Hungary. For the international association IHF, world tournaments of this size and length remain huge sources of profit. The Olympic status also seems to be secured in this way. That’s why nothing will change in terms of the oversize with 32 participating teams.

With the motto “Hands up for more!” The DHB decided not to put individual players in the shop window, but rather to highlight the development and equality of women’s handball. Defense specialist Xenia Smiths also said that it worked well: “With the campaign we have taken a big step in a really good direction when it comes to sustainability for German women’s handball. This should become standard in the coming years, that the Germans are so good and play so confidently in the tournament. It’s really something big that we have now achieved here.” Even if the crowning finale didn’t come at the end.