Power rankings World Championship: Obvious top duo – completely open otherwise

The quarter-finals of the 2025 Men’s World Championship have arrived. Ola Selby of GoHandball ranks the eight teams.

Power rankings are our ranking of which of the teams have been the hottest so far. A team that has lost one game can be considered a better team than a team that has gone undefeated. It’s all about the quality of the teams.

Here are the Power rankings.

1: Denmark

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Gold.

Nikolaj Jacobsen. Photo: Jesper Zerman / BILDBYRÅN

Denmark was the clear favorite even before the World Championship, just as they more or less always are, and their favorite status hasn’t diminished considering how the Danish team has performed during the tournament. Denmark has won all of their matches and they’ve done so convincingly.

Most notably, it was in the match against Germany, one of the biggest “threats” to Denmark’s fourth consecutive World Championship gold, that the Danes hit the gas pedal and steamrolled their opposition.

Mathias Gidsel has, of course, been as dominant as everyone expected him to be. And right now, there’s nothing to suggest anything other than a fourth straight WC gold for Nikolaj Jacobsen and his team.

2: France

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Silver.

Dika Mem of France. Photo: Joel Marklund / BILDBYRÅN.

At the same time as I say that there’s nothing to suggest anything other than a Danish World Championship gold, France is still there in the back of the mind. The French side have also gone unbeaten in the tournament, and they’ve played much better handball than they did during the Olympics.

So why isn’t France considered a real strong gold contender in the end? It’s the same old story when it comes to France since Thierry Omeyer retired: they don’t have a goalkeeper of the highest class.

If France manages to get a perfect performance from one or both of their goalkeepers in a potential final against Denmark, they might have a chance. But everything points to France winning silver – I actually think they are clearly the second-best team.

3: Portugal

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Knocked out in the Main round.

Francisco Costa of Portugal.
Photo: Mathias Bergeld / BILDBYRÅN

I think there are three teams after Denmark and France that could all claim bronze: Portugal, Germany, and Egypt. It might be a bit surprising that I place Portugal here, given their lack of experience at this stage of a tournament, but I think they’ve looked unstoppable in attack.

Especially the Costa brothers. The way they play handball. And Portugal is playing with a speed and, honestly, a cleverness in their game that they haven’t shown before. There’s no doubt that this team is for real, and I definitely think they could beat Olympic finalist Germany in their quarterfinal, even though it will, of course, be tough.

On top of that, Luis Frade has been the best pivot of the entire World Championship so far.

4: Germany

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Bronze.

Renars Uscins (to the right) of Germany and Hannover-Burgdorf. Photo: Ludvig Thunman / BILDBYRÅN.

Germany has only lost one match so far, and that was a heavy defeat to the machine that is Denmark. As for the rest of their play? It hasn’t been dazzling throughout, but they’ve maintained a solid baseline and have a team with real potential to reach a second consecutive final.

Andreas Wolff and David Späth form a top-class goalkeeper duo, while on the attack, Renärs Uscins, Julian Köster, and Luka Witzke have all delivered impressive performances.

Weaknesses? Their defense hasn’t been at its best, especially in the central block. And, to be honest, Juri Knorr has contributed the most to the team when he’s been sitting on the bench, which he hasn’t done enough for Germany to perform their best handball.

5: Egypt

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Quarter-final.

Yahia Omar. Photo: Mathias Bergeld / BILDBYRÅN

Egypt has undoubtedly had an up-and-down tournament. The peaks are, as we all know by now, incredibly high given Egypt’s performances in recent years. But there’s also an inconsistency and a lack of “being at their best when it matters” that could become problematic going forward.

When the game is working, Egypt is a joy to watch. So much power, so much speed, and such exciting play. But the feeling is that it’s been a little too “easy” for other teams to force Egypt to play a bit below their top level. That’s why I rank them below both Portugal and Germany.

However, if they hit their peak, they could definitely challenge France in the quarterfinals.

6: Croatia

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Knocked out in the Main round.

Domagoj Duvnjak. Photo: Jesper Zerman / BILDBYRÅN

The dream of ending his international career with a medal on home soil is still alive for Domagoj Duvnjak. But it was a close call for Croatia, and they needed a bit of luck to make it through the group stage and into the quarterfinals.

The team’s best performance so far came against Iceland, and it came at just the right time. The crowd support in Zagreb was off the charts, and it lifted the Croats to a performance where they could have beaten almost any team (except Denmark, of course) in this tournament.

There’s no shortage of class players in this team, but for me to rank them higher, they would have needed to show a higher baseline level and a much greater consistency than they’ve shown so far. That said, it looks like they will play in the semifinals in a few days.

7: Brazil

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Knocked out in the Main round.

Goalkeeper Rangel da Rosa of Brazil.
Photo: Vegard Grøtt / BILDBYRÅN

Maybe it’s a bit disrespectful of me to place Brazil as the second weakest team based on how they’ve performed so far. After all, Brazil has defeated Norway, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals.

But I don’t think they’ve shown the same top-level play as Croatia or Egypt. That said, the Brazilians have played some great handball and, above all, gotten the maximum out of their squad.

And it’s always a pleasure to watch Rangel da Rosa, Bryan Monte, and Haniel Langaro play handball.

8: Hungary

Ranking ahead of the World Championship: Quarter-final.

Bence Banhidi of Hungary. Photo: Mathias Bergeld / BILDBYRÅN

Hungary really hasn’t impressed during the World Championship, yet here they are in the quarterfinals against a team (Croatia) that they definitely have the capacity to beat. How did that happen? Well, first and foremost, their draw has been a bit kinder compared to what’s been happening on the “other side” of the bracket.

But Hungary has also, after drawing with North Macedonia in the opening group stage, gradually improved. Sure, they were no match for France and didn’t have to break a sweat to beat Austria or Qatar, but their play has definitely looked a bit better.

That said, it’s pretty clear that they look the weakest of the eight remaining teams.