2015 World Men's Handball Championship

2015 World Men's Handball Championship
Tournament details
Host country	Qatar
Dates	15 January – 1 February
Teams	24 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)	3 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	France (5th title)
Runner-up	Qatar
Third place	Poland
Fourth place	Spain
Tournament statistics
Matches	88
Goals scored	4805 (54.6 per match)
Attendance	306,100 (3,478 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Dragan Gajić (SVN) (71 goals)
Best player	Thierry Omeyer (FRA)
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The 2015 World Men's Handball Championship was the 24th staging of the World Men's Handball Championship, organised by the International Handball Federation (IHF). The final tournament was held for the first time in Qatar, from 15 January to 1 February 2015. The Qatari bid was selected over those of Norway, Poland and France after a vote by the IHF Council on 27 January 2011, in Malmö, Sweden.^[2] This was the third time that the World Championship was hosted in the Middle East And North Africa, after Egypt in 1999 and Tunisia in 2005.

France won the final against Qatar 25–22 to win their fifth title,^[3] a first in handball history while Qatar won their first ever medal.^[4] Poland captured the bronze medal by defeating Spain 29–28 after extra time.^[5] Denmark secured the fifth place by winning against Croatia which finished sixth and thus had the worst result in the past 13 years of international handball competing.

The competition was marred by numerous controversies throughout.

Venues[]

The games of the tournament were played in Doha and in the newly created town of Lusail.

Three new venues were constructed for the tournament:

Lusail Sports Arena^[6] in the town of Lusail: with a capacity of 15,300 seats, Lusail hall became the main venue of the tournament. The hall opened in November 2014.
Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in al-Sadd district of Doha with a capacity of 7,700 seats. The hall is part of the al-Sadd Club sports complex.
Duhail Handball Sports Hall in Duhail district of Doha with a capacity of 5,500 seats. The hall is part of the Qatar Handball Association (QHA) complex.

Lusail	Doha		Lusail Doha
Lusail Sports Arena	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena	Duhail Handball Sports Hall
Capacity: 15,300	Capacity: 7,700	Capacity: 5,500

Qualification[]

Twenty-four teams participated in the final tournament. Qatar, as hosts and Spain, as world champions, were automatically qualified, which left 22 places available for the best teams of each continental qualification tournament and the winners of an additional European qualification competition.

In a decision taken by the International Handball Federation on 8 July 2014 the spot allocated for a nation from Oceania was revoked on the grounds that Oceania has no continental confederation. The national team, qualified for this spot through the 2014 Oceania Handball Championship, was Australia. The spot was instead handed out as a wild card to the nation with the highest ranking at the previous world championships not qualified for the Qatar tournament. This nation was Germany.^[7] Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates withdrew on 7 November 2014.^[8]^[9] Iceland and Saudi Arabia were chosen as the replacements.^[10]

Competition	Dates	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation	27 January 2011	1	Qatar
2013 World Champions	11–27 January 2013	1	Spain
2014 African Men's Handball Championship	16–25 January 2014	3	Algeria Egypt Tunisia
2014 European Men's Handball Championship	12–26 January 2014	3	Croatia Denmark France
2014 Asian Men's Handball Championship	24 January – 4 February 2014	3	~~Bahrain~~^[8] Iran ~~United Arab Emirates~~^[9]
2014 Oceania Handball Championship	25–26 April 2014	1	~~Australia~~^[7]
European qualification	7–15 June 2014	9	Austria Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Czech Republic Macedonia Poland Russia Slovenia Sweden
2014 Pan American Men's Handball Championship	23–29 June 2014	3	Argentina Brazil Chile
Wildcard	8 July 2014	1	Germany^[7]
Wildcards	21 November 2014	2	Iceland^[10] Saudi Arabia^[10]

Qualified teams[]

Country	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances^{1, 2}
Qatar	00Hosts	27 January 2011	4 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2013)
Spain	01World champions	27 January 2013	17 (1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Denmark	Finalist of 2014 European Championship	22 January 2014	20 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
France	Finalist of 2014 European Championship	22 January 2014	19 (1954, 1958,1961, 1964,1967,1970, 1978, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Croatia	Fourth of 2014 European Championship	22 January 2014	10 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Algeria	Finalist of 2014 African Championship	24 January 2014	13 (1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Tunisia	Finalist of 2014 African Championship	24 January 2014	11 (1967, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Egypt	Third place of 2014 African Championship	25 January 2014	12 (1964, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
~~Bahrain~~^[8]	Finalist of 2014 Asian Championship	1 February 2014	1 (2011)
Iran	Semifinalist of 2014 Asian Championship	2 February 2014	0 (debut)
~~United Arab Emirates~~^[9]	Semifinalist of 2014 Asian Championship	3 February 2014	0 (debut)
~~Australia~~^[7]	Winner of 2014 Oceania Championship	26 April 2014	7 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Poland	European playoffs	14 June 2014	13 (1958, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Russia	European playoffs	14 June 2014	10 (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013)
Czech Republic	European playoffs	14 June 2014	5 (1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007)
Austria	European playoffs	14 June 2014	4 (1938, 1958, 1993, 2011)
Sweden	European playoffs	15 June 2014	21 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011)
Slovenia	European playoffs	15 June 2014	6 (1995, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013)
Macedonia	European playoffs	15 June 2014	3 (1999, 2009, 2013)
Belarus	European playoffs	15 June 2014	2 (1995, 2013)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	European playoffs	15 June 2014	0 (debut)
Brazil	Finalist of 2014 Pan American Championship	28 June 2014	11 (1958, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Argentina	Finalist of 2014 Pan American Championship	28 June 2014	9 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Chile	Third at 2014 Pan American Championship	29 June 2014	2 (2011, 2013)
Germany^[7]	Wildcard	8 July 2014	22 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990³, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Iceland^[10]	Wildcard	21 November 2014	17 (1958, 1961, 1964, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013)
Saudi Arabia^[10]	Wildcard	21 November 2014	6 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2013)

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year

² Italics indicates host country for that year

³ From both German teams only East Germany was qualified in 1990

Draw[]

The draw was held on 20 July 2014 at 21:30 local time in Doha, Qatar.^[11]^[12]

Seedings[]

The seedings were published on 11 July 2014.^[13]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
Spain France Denmark Croatia	Bosnia and Herzegovina Poland Sweden Slovenia	Russia Qatar Macedonia Algeria	Austria Argentina Belarus Czech Republic	Tunisia Egypt Brazil ~~Bahrain~~ → Saudi Arabia ^[8]	Iran ~~United Arab Emirates~~ → Iceland ^[9] Chile ~~Australia~~ → Germany ^[7]

Squads[]

Each team selects 16 players for the tournament.

Referees[]

18 referee pairs are selected:^[14]

Referees
Brazil	Jesus Menezes Rogéro Pinto
Croatia	Matija Gubica Boris Milošević
Czech Republic	Václav Horáček Jiří Novotný
Denmark	Martin Gjeding Mads Hansen
Egypt	Mohamed Rashed Tamer El-Sayed
France	Laurent Reveret Stevann Pichon
Germany	Lars Geipel Marcus Helbig
Japan	Kiyoshi Hizaki Tomokazu Ikebuchi
Lithuania	Mindaugas Gatelis Vaidas Mažeika

Referees
North Macedonia	Gjorgji Nachevski Slave Nikolov
Portugal	Duarte Santos Ricardo Fonseca
Qatar	Saleh Bamutref Mansour Al-Suwaidi
Serbia	Nenad Nikolić Dušan Stojković
Slovenia	Nenad Krstić Peter Ljubič
South Korea	Bon-ok Koo Seok Lee
Spain	Óscar López Ángel Ramírez
Sweden	Michael Johansson Jasmin Kliko
Tunisia	Samir Krichen Samir Makhlouf

Preliminary round[]

The schedule was published on 21 August 2014.^[15]^[16] A new schedule was released on 12 December 2014.^[17]^[18] The top four teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage.

Tie-breaking criteria[]

For the group stage of this tournament, where two or more teams in a group tied on an equal number of points, the finishing positions will be determined by the following tie-breaking criteria in the following order:^[19]

number of points obtained in the matches among the teams in question
goal difference in the matches among the teams in question
number of goals scored in the matches among the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points)
goal difference in all the group matches
number of goals scored in all the group matches
drawing of lots

	Team advanced to the knockout stage

All times are local (UTC+3).

Group A[]

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	5	5	0	162	127	+35	10
Qatar	5	4	1	137	122	+15	8
Slovenia	5	3	2	160	145	+15	6
Brazil	5	2	3	146	143	+3	4
Belarus	5	1	4	147	155	−8	2
Chile	5	0	5	104	164	−60	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

15 January 2015 20:30	Qatar	28–23	Brazil	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 11,500 Referees: Milošević, Gubica (CRO)
	Hassab Alla, Marković 6	(15–12)	Chiuffa 6
	3× 4×	Report	3× 5× 1×

16 January 2015 17:00	Spain	38–33	Belarus	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	Aguinagalde, Maqueda 6	(21–17)	Tsitou 5
	3× 2×	Report	3× 3× 2×

16 January 2015 17:00	Slovenia	36–23	Chile	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Rashed, El-Sayed (EGY)
	Gajić 9	(16–14)	R. Salinas 10
	3× 8×	Report	1× 6×

17 January 2015 17:00	Brazil	27–29	Spain	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Ribeiro, Toledo 5	(14–15)	Cañellas 9
	4× 5×	Report	3× 2×

17 January 2015 17:00	Belarus	29–34	Slovenia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	D. Rutenka 6	(8–17)	Gajić 15
	3× 5×	Report	4× 8× 1×

17 January 2015 19:00	Chile	20–27	Qatar	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Reveret, Pichon (FRA)
	Oneto 5	(9–15)	Marković 11
	3× 5×	Report	3× 2×

19 January 2015 17:00	Spain	37–16	Chile	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Lee, Koo (KOR)
	Rivera Folch 7	(14–7)	Araya, Frelijj 3
	3× 3×	Report	4× 1×

19 January 2015 17:00	Belarus	29–34	Brazil	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Rashed, El-Sayed (EGY)
	three players 6	(12–16)	Ribeiro 9
	3× 5×	Report	4× 5×

19 January 2015 19:00	Slovenia	29–31	Qatar	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 9,500 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Dolenec 8	(15–18)	Capote 12
	3× 7×	Report	4× 5×

21 January 2015 17:00	Slovenia	35–32	Brazil	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Reveret, Pichon (FRA)
	Gajić 12	(19–18)	Ribeiro 7
	2× 5×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2015 17:00	Chile	23–34	Belarus	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 800 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	R. Salinas 6	(11–14)	Pukhouski, S. Rutenka 8
	2× 7× 1×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2015 19:00	Qatar	25–28	Spain	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 12,400 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB)
	Marković 10	(10–8)	Rivera Folch 7
	2× 1×	Report	3× 5×

23 January 2015 17:00	Brazil	30–22	Chile	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Pacheco Filho 7	(12–13)	five players 3
	1× 5×	Report	4× 7× 1×

23 January 2015 17:00	Spain	30–26	Slovenia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Rivera Folch 6	(14–10)	four players 4
	3× 2× 1×	Report	3× 5×

23 January 2015 19:00	Qatar	26–22	Belarus	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 10,000 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	Marković 9	(7–12)	D. Rutenka 7
	2× 3×	Report	4× 6×

Group B[]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Croatia	5	5	0	0	158	124	+34	10
Macedonia	5	4	0	1	153	138	+15	8
Austria	5	2	1	2	147	140	+7	5
Tunisia	5	2	1	2	132	133	−1	5
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5	1	0	4	118	128	−10	2
Iran	5	0	0	5	127	172	−45	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

16 January 2015 15:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	30–25	Iran	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR)
	Čelica 6	(12–16)	A. Esteki 7
	3× 8×	Report	4× 8×

16 January 2015 17:00	Macedonia	33–25	Tunisia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	K. Lazarov 10	(18–14)	Tej 6
	3× 7×	Report	3× 6×

16 January 2015 19:00	Croatia	32–30	Austria	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 750 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Čupić 11	(16–13)	Szilágyi, Weber 7
	3× 6×	Report	4× 7× 1×

17 January 2015 19:00	Tunisia	25–28	Croatia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 4,000 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	Bannour 9	(13–14)	Čupić 8
	3× 6×	Report	3× 5×

17 January 2015 19:00	Iran	31–33	Macedonia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Al-Suwaidi, Bamutref (QAT)
	A. Esteki 9	(17–19)	K. Lazarov 9
	4× 7× 1×	Report	2× 7×

17 January 2015 21:00	Austria	23–21	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Szilágyi, Weber 4	(11–12)	Malinović 6
	3× 8×	Report	4× 6× 1×

19 January 2015 19:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	22–25	Macedonia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Burić, Malinović 4	(11–13)	Manaskov 6
	2× 5×	Report	3× 6× 1×

19 January 2015 19:00	Croatia	41–22	Iran	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Horvat 12	(19–13)	S. Esteki 6
	2× 3×	Report	1× 3×

19 January 2015 21:00	Austria	25–25	Tunisia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB)
	Weber 9	(14–15)	Sanaï, Tej 5
	3× 4×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2015 17:00	Iran	26–38	Austria	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Rashed, El-Sayed (EGY)
	S. Esteki 7	(13–18)	Santos 8
	1× 5×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2015 19:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	24–27	Tunisia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR)
	Malinović 5	(14–15)	Boughanmi 7
	4× 6×	Report	3× 5×

21 January 2015 19:00	Macedonia	26–29	Croatia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	K. Lazarov 7	(14–15)	Čupić 9
	4× 6×	Report	4× 6×

23 January 2015 17:00	Tunisia	30–23	Iran	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Kliko, Johansson (SWE)
	Touati 7	(12–12)	Karamian 4
	4× 3×	Report	1× 5×

23 January 2015 19:00	Macedonia	36–31	Austria	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	K. Lazarov 9	(16–16)	Weber 8
	2× 5×	Report	2× 7× 1×

23 January 2015 19:00	Croatia	28–21	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: Reveret, Pichon (FRA)
	Karačić 6	(17–8)	Toromanović 7
	3× 4×	Report	2× 6× 1×

Group C[]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
France	5	4	1	0	143	128	+15	9
Sweden	5	3	1	1	137	109	+28	7
Iceland	5	2	1	2	127	135	−8	5
Egypt	5	2	1	2	135	125	+10	5
Czech Republic	5	2	0	3	145	138	+7	4
Algeria	5	0	0	5	109	161	−52	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

16 January 2015 19:00	Algeria	20−34	Egypt	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 5,500 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	Kaabeche 6	(9−17)	Issa 5
	3× 6×	Report	3× 7×

16 January 2015 21:00	France	30−27	Czech Republic	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Guigou, Karabatić 7	(16−9)	Horák 8
	2× 6×	Report	3× 10× 1×

16 January 2015 21:00	Sweden	24−16	Iceland	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	Ekberg 7	(12−7)	Atlason 5
	3× 7×	Report	3× 6×

18 January 2015 19:00	Iceland	32–24	Algeria	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Milošević, Gubica (CRO)
	Sigurðsson 8	(12–13)	Berkous 5
	3× 6× 1×	Report	4× 3×

18 January 2015 21:00	Czech Republic	22–36	Sweden	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Babák, Sobol 5	(10–19)	Andersson 10
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 5×

18 January 2015 21:00	Egypt	24–28	France	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO)
	Amer 5	(11–14)	Karabatić 6
	3× 10×	Report	3× 7×

20 January 2015 19:00	Czech Republic	24–27	Egypt	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 6,500 Referees: Al-Suwaidi, Bamutref (QAT)
	Hrstka 5	(10–13)	El-Ahmar 5
	3× 4×	Report	3× 9×

20 January 2015 21:00	France	26–26	Iceland	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR)
	Karabatić 6	(12–14)	Hallgrímsson, Pálmarsson 5
	3× 5× 1×	Report	4× 7×

20 January 2015 21:00	Sweden	27–19	Algeria	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Källman 6	(15–6)	Daoud 6
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 4×

22 January 2015 19:00	Sweden	25–25	Egypt	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Milošević, Gubica (CRO)
	Ekberg 10	(10–10)	El-Ahmar 9
	3× 6×	Report	3× 7× 1×

22 January 2015 21:00	Iceland	25–36	Czech Republic	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Lee, Koo (KOR)
	Guðjónsson 5	(11–21)	Jícha 11
	2× 7×	Report	3× 6×

22 January 2015 21:00	Algeria	26–32	France	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB)
	Berkous 11	(12–19)	Guigou 7
	3× 9×	Report	3× 5×

24 January 2015 19:00	Egypt	25–28	Iceland	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB)
	Issa, Radwan 5	(10–15)	Sigurðsson 13
	3× 4×	Report	2× 7×

24 January 2015 21:00	Algeria	20–36	Czech Republic	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Daoud, Hamoud 5	(10–21)	Jícha 7
	3× 1×	Report	3× 3×

24 January 2015 21:00	France	27–25	Sweden	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 3,000 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	Joli 9	(11–12)	Källman 8
	4× 2× 1×	Report	3× 4×

Group D[]

Russia vs Denmark at the Lusail Sports Arena

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	5	4	1	0	150	124	+26	9
Denmark	5	3	2	0	154	127	+27	8
Poland	5	3	0	2	135	121	+14	6
Argentina	5	2	1	2	132	123	+9	5
Russia	5	1	0	4	133	131	+2	2
Saudi Arabia	5	0	0	5	87	165	−78	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

16 January 2015 15:00	Russia	27–17	Saudi Arabia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Dereven, Zhitnikov 4	(17–9)	Al-Abbas, Al-Hannabi 4
	2× 6× 1×	Report	4× 9×

16 January 2015 19:00	Poland	26−29	Germany	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Lijewski 7	(13−17)	Weinhold 9
	4× 5×	Report	3× 6×

16 January 2015 21:00	Denmark	24−24	Argentina	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO)
	Eggert 5	(13−8)	Pizarro 8
	3× 7×	Report	3× 7× 1×

18 January 2015 19:00	Argentina	23–24	Poland	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	three players 5	(12–11)	three players 5
	3× 6× 1×	Report	4× 7×

18 January 2015 19:00	Germany	27–26	Russia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 600 Referees: Kliko, Johansson (SWE)
	Gensheimer 9	(9–13)	Igropulo 6
	3× 7×	Report	4× 8×

18 January 2015 21:00	Saudi Arabia	18–38	Denmark	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 600 Referees: Rashed, El-Sayed (EGY)
	Al-Janabi, Moj. Al-Salem 4	(6–20)	H. Toft Hansen 8
	2× 4×	Report	3× 3×

20 January 2015 19:00	Poland	26–25	Russia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO)
	Rojewski 6	(12–13)	Shishkarev 7
	3× 5×	Report	2× 5×

20 January 2015 19:00	Argentina	32–20	Saudi Arabia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Pizarro 7	(13–11)	Al-Janabi 5
	4× 6×	Report	3× 12× 2×

20 January 2015 21:00	Denmark	30–30	Germany	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 2,000 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	Christiansen, Hansen 6	(16–16)	Weinhold 8
	3× 3×	Report	4× 5×

22 January 2015 19:00	Poland	32–13	Saudi Arabia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: Kliko, Johansson (SWE)
	Syprzak 10	(17–6)	Al-Abdulali 4
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4× 1×

22 January 2015 19:00	Germany	28–23	Argentina	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Groetzki 7	(13–14)	Fernández 6
	3× 6×	Report	4× 6×

22 January 2015 21:00	Russia	28–31	Denmark	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 10,500 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Shishkarev 8	(8–16)	Lauge 9
	3× 1×	Report	3× 2×

24 January 2015 19:00	Saudi Arabia	19–36	Germany	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR)
	three players 3	(8–18)	Musche, Sellin 11
	3× 6×	Report	3× 5×

24 January 2015 19:00	Russia	27–30	Argentina	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Al-Suwaidi, Bamutref (QAT)
	Shishkarev 7	(16–17)	Pizarro 9
	3× 8× 1×	Report	4× 4× 1×

24 January 2015 21:00	Denmark	31–27	Poland	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Milošević, Gubica (CRO)
	Lindberg 6	(16–12)	Rojewski 5
	3× 5×	Report	4× 3×

Knockout stage[]

The final match, Qatar vs France

Championship[]

Round of 16

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

B1

Croatia

26

A4

Brazil

25

B1

Croatia

22

D3

Poland

24

D3

Poland

24

C2

Sweden

20

D3

Poland

29

B3

Austria

27

A2

Qatar

31

A2

Qatar

29

A2

Qatar

26

D1

Germany

23

D1

Germany

24

C4

Egypt

16

A2

Qatar

22

C3

Iceland

25

C1

France

25

D2

Denmark

30

D2

Denmark

24

A1

Spain

28

A1

Spain

25

B4

Tunisia

20

A1

Spain

22

A3

Slovenia

30

C1

France

26

B2

Macedonia

28

A3

Slovenia

23

Third place

C1

France

33

C1

France

32

D3

Poland

29

D4

Argentina

20

A1

Spain

28

Round of 16[]

25 January 2015 18:30	Austria	27–29	Qatar	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 12,200 Referees: Milošević, Gubica (CRO)
	Weber 8	(14–13)	Marković 8
	4× 7×	Report	2× 4×

25 January 2015 18:30	Slovenia	30–28	Macedonia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: Gatelis, Mažeika (LTU)
	Gajić 9	(16–15)	Georgievski, K. Lazarov 7
	4× 9×	Report	3× 4× 1×

25 January 2015 21:00	Spain	28–20	Tunisia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Ugalde 6	(18–9)	Boughanmi 5
	3× 5×	Report	3× 3×

25 January 2015 21:00	Croatia	26–25	Brazil	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: Al-Suwaidi, Bamutref (QAT)
	Kopljar 5	(13–15)	Silva 5
	2× 1×	Report	3× 5×

26 January 2015 18:30	Germany	23–16	Egypt	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 12,500 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	Gensheimer 6	(12–8)	El-Ahmar, Issa 4
	3× 7×	Report	3× 5× 1×

26 January 2015 18:30	Poland	24–20	Sweden	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO)
	B. Jurecki, M. Jurecki 5	(10–11)	Petersen 5
	2× 3×	Report	3× 6×

26 January 2015 21:00	Iceland	25–30	Denmark	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Reveret, Pichon (FRA)
	Petersson 7	(10–16)	Lauge Schmidt 6
	4× 2×	Report	3× 5×

26 January 2015 21:00	France	33–20	Argentina	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Porte 6	(16–6)	Carou 4
	2× 4×	Report	2× 1×

Quarterfinals[]

28 January 2015 18:30	Croatia	22–24	Poland	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Duvnjak, Kopljar 5	(10–12)	Jurkiewicz 6
	3× 3×	Report	4× 3×

28 January 2015 18:30	Qatar	26–24	Germany	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Capote 8	(18–14)	Gensheimer 5
	3× 2×	Report	4× 3×

28 January 2015 21:00	Slovenia	23–32	France	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	L. Žvižej 6	(10–18)	Narcisse 6
	4× 5×	Report	2× 2×

28 January 2015 21:00	Denmark	24–25	Spain	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 9,000 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Eggert, Hansen 6	(11–11)	Rivera Folch 10
	4× 3×	Report	3× 3×

Semifinals[]

30 January 2015 18:30	Poland	29–31	Qatar	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB)
	Jurecki 9	(13–16)	Capote, Mallash 6
	3× 5×	Report	3× 2×

30 January 2015 21:00	Spain	22–26	France	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 9,000 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO)
	Cañellas, Ugalde 5	(14–18)	Guigou 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

Bronze medal game[]

1 February 2015 16:30	Poland	29–28 (ET)	Spain	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 9,400 Referees: Gjeding, Hansen (DEN)
	Szyba 8	(13–13)	Tomás 7
	3× 4×	Report	2× 1×
	FT: 24–24 ET: 5–4

Final[]

1 February 2015 19:15	Qatar	22–25	France	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 15,000 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	Marković 7	(11–14)	Karabatić 5
	3× 4×	Report	4× 2×

5–8th place playoffs[]

Semifinals		Fifth place

30 January

Croatia	28
		31 January
Germany	23
		Croatia	24
30 January
		Denmark	28
Denmark	36

Slovenia	33
		Seventh place

		31 January

		Germany	30

		Slovenia	27

5–8th place semifinals[]

30 January 2015 16:00	Croatia	28–23	Germany	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 800 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	Štrlek 8	(13–11)	Gensheimer, Schöngarth 6
	3× 2×	Report	4× 2×

30 January 2015 18:30	Denmark	36–33	Slovenia	Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, Doha Attendance: 500 Referees: Al-Suwaidi, Bamutref (QAT)
	Hansen 13	(19–15)	Gajić 12
	3× 4×	Report	2× 5× 2×

Seventh place game[]

31 January 2015 16:30	Germany	30–27	Slovenia	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Novotný, Horáček (CZE)
	Gensheimer 13	(16–14)	Natek 9
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3× 1×

Fifth place game[]

31 January 2015 19:15	Croatia	24–28	Denmark	Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail Attendance: 3,000 Referees: López, Ramírez (ESP)
	three players 4	(11–15)	Hansen 8
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

President’s Cup[]

17–20th place playoffs[]

Semifinals		17th place

26 January

Belarus	37
		27 January
Bosnia and Herzegovina	29
		Belarus	31
26 January
		Czech Republic (pen.)	32
Czech Republic	32

Russia	30
		19th place

		27 January

		Bosnia and Herzegovina	28

		Russia	42

21–24th place playoffs[]

Semifinals		21st place

26 January

Chile	31
		27 January
Iran	32
		Iran	26
26 January
		Saudi Arabia	22
Algeria	25

Saudi Arabia	27
		23rd place

		27 January

		Chile (pen.)	30

		Algeria	28

Placement semifinals[]

26 January 2015 13:00	Chile	31–32	Iran	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 100 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	R. Salinas 18	(15–17)	three players 5
	2× 2×	Report	3× 4× 1×

26 January 2015 15:00	Algeria	25–27	Saudi Arabia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 100 Referees: Kliko, Johansson (SWE)
	Hamoud 9	(14–12)	Moj. Al-Salem 5
	2× 6× 1×	Report	3× 7×

26 January 2015 17:00	Belarus	37–29	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 300 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	S. Rutenka 9	(20–16)	Burić 6
	3× 6×	Report	3× 4×

26 January 2015 19:00	Czech Republic	32–30	Russia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 300 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Zdráhala 8	(16–15)	Dereven 8
	4× 6× 1×	Report	1× 6×

23rd place game[]

27 January 2015 13:00	Chile	30–28	Algeria	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 100 Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR)
	R. Salinas 11	(10–16)	Hamoud 12
	4× 4×	Report	2× 7×
	FT: 27–27 Pen: 3–1

21st place game[]

27 January 2015 15:00	Iran	26–22	Saudi Arabia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 150 Referees: Menezes, Pinto (BRA)
	A. Esteki 6	(15–10)	Al-Abdulali 6
	2× 5× 1×	Report	3× 6×

19th place game[]

27 January 2015 17:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	28–42	Russia	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 200 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Malinović 6	(16–20)	Kovalev 6
	3× 6×	Report	2× 6×

17th place game[]

27 January 2015 19:00	Belarus	31–32	Czech Republic	Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Attendance: 300 Referees: Rased, El-Sayed (EGY)
	S. Rutenka 12	(13–14)	four players 6
	3× 5×	Report	3× 3×
	FT: 28–28 Pen: 3–4

Statistics[]

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Shots	%
1	Dragan Gajić	Slovenia	71	93	76%
2	Žarko Marković	Qatar	67	127	53%
3	Uwe Gensheimer	Germany	54	72	75%
4	Rodrigo Salinas	Chile	52	92	57%
5	Rafael Capote	Qatar	48	78	62%
6	Valero Rivera Folch	Spain	47	58	81%
7	Kiril Lazarov	Macedonia	45	78	58%
8	Siarhei Rutenka	Belarus	43	75	57%
9	Robert Weber	Austria	42	61	69%
10	Ivan Čupić	Croatia	41	53	77%

Source: IHF.info

Top goalkeepers[]

Rank	Name	Team	%	Saves	Shots
1	Carsten Lichtlein	Germany	38%	57	152
2	Filip Ivić	Croatia	37%	44	119
	Thierry Omeyer	France		105	283
	Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas	Spain		97	259
5	Mattias Andersson	Sweden	36%	53	147
	Danijel Šarić	Qatar		75	206
	Petr Štochl	Czech Republic		75	210
8	Jannick Green	Denmark	35%	47	135
	Silvio Heinevetter	Germany		67	193
	Nikola Marinovic	Austria		52	150

Source: IHF.info

Final ranking[]

Rank	Team
	France
	Qatar
	Poland
4	Spain
5	Denmark
6	Croatia
7	Germany
8	Slovenia
9	Macedonia
10	Sweden
11	Iceland
12	Argentina
13	Austria
14	Egypt
15	Tunisia
16	Brazil
17	Czech Republic
18	Belarus
19	Russia
20	Bosnia and Herzegovina
21	Iran
22	Saudi Arabia
23	Chile
24	Algeria

	Qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics
	Qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics thru continental events
	Qualified for the Olympic Qualification Tournament

2015 Men's World Champions

France
Fifth title

Team roster

William Accambray, Igor Anić, Xavier Barachet, Cyril Dumoulin, Jérôme Fernandez, Mathieu Grébille, Michaël Guigou, Samuel Honrubia, Guillaume Joli, Luka Karabatić, Nikola Karabatić, Kentin Mahé, Daniel Narcisse, Alix Nyokas, Thierry Omeyer, Valentin Porte, Cédric Sorhaindo
Head Coach: Claude Onesta

All-Star Team[]

All-Star Team of the tournament:^[1]

Goalkeeper: Thierry Omeyer (FRA)
Right wing: Dragan Gajić (SVN)
Right back: Žarko Marković (QAT)
Centre back: Nikola Karabatić (FRA)
Left back: Rafael Capote (QAT)
Left wing: Valero Rivera Folch (ESP)
Pivot: Bartosz Jurecki (POL)

Other awards[]

Most Valuable Player: Thierry Omeyer (FRA)^[1]

The final rankings were used in the 2016 Summer Olympics qualification process. France, as World Champion, qualified for the Olympics. The next 6 teams earned a place in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments. Qatar and Germany, however, won their continental tournaments (qualifying them directly for the Olympics) and thus their spots in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments went to Slovenia and Macedonia.

Controversy[]

Withdrawal of teams[]

As mentioned under qualifications, Australia lost its spot in the tournament due to an IHF decision, being replaced by Germany, who did not qualify. Further, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates withdrew.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Qatar player naturalisation[]

A large number of players in the Qatar team had been naturalised in the years leading up to the championship. According to IHF rules, to gain eligibility for a new national team, a player cannot have played for another nation for three years in an official match.^[20]^[21] This allowed several foreign-born players, including Spanish-born Borja Vidal, Goran Stojanović and Jovo Damjanović from Montenegro, and Bertrand Roiné who previously played for France, to play for the Qatar team at the championship. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, only four of the 17 players in the squad were native to Qatar.^[22]

Head of the Qatar Handball Federation, Ahmed Mohammed Abdulrab Al Shaabi, acknowledged the policy in a statement in June 2013, saying "We're a small nation with limited human resources, so we had to bring players from outside in the past." He also announced an end to the policy at the time, adding however that they "[might] make an exception only in the case of an experienced goalkeeper."^[23] In January 2014, Danish sports agent Mads Winther said he had met with "contacts involved with Qatar" regarding the possibility of naturalising Danish players.^[24]

The practice was criticised by Austrian goalkeeper after his team's loss to Qatar in the round of 16, saying "It [felt] like playing against a world selection team" and "I think it is not the sense of a world championship."^[25] At a press conference during the championship, Qatar head coach Valero Rivera declined to comment on the matter.^[25] Spanish player Joan Cañellas did not think it was an issue, saying "If they can do it, why not."^[21]

After the controversial semi-final against Poland, and reaching the final as a result the practice was even more criticised, with players such as Danijel Šarić having now represented four different national teams.^[26]

Paid fans[]

Qatar flew in about 60 Spanish fans to cheer for Qatar during the championship.^[27]

Refereeing[]

During the first 12 matches of the tournament, 143 two-minute suspensions were awarded by the referees, a figure that came under strong criticism from teams, who had not been informed of the IHF Referee Committee's instructions to referees commanding them to keep a strict disciplinary line.^[28]

The referees were widely accused of being one-sided in favour of the hosts. Especially at the matches against Austria,^[29]^[30]^[31] Germany^[29]^[32]^[33] and Poland.^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37] After the final whistle, the Polish players showed their discontent by ironically applauding the three referees.^[38]^[39]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Qatar 2015 All Star Team announced". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "2015 World Championship hosts announced". EHF. 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
^ "France: World, Olympic and European Champions". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "France beat Qatar to win fifth world handball title". Gulf Times. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "Bronze goes to Poland". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "Lusail Multipurpose Hall - 24th Men's Handball World Championship". www.qatarhandball2015.com.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "IHF Council Meeting held in Zagreb". ihf.info. 8 July 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Bahrain withdraws from the 2015 Men's World Championship". ihf.info. 7 November 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The United Arab Emirates withdraw from the 2015 World Championship". ihf.info. 10 November 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "IHF Council decision on withdrawal of Bahrain and United Arab Emirates from 2015 Men's WCh". ihf.info. 21 November 2014.
^ "Draw for Qatar 2015 on 20 July in Doha". ihf.info. 12 March 2014.
^ "Groups of the 2015 Men's Handball World Championship drawn in Doha". ihf.info. 20 July 2014.
^ "Pots and procedure for Qatar 2015 draw on 20 July". ihf.info. 11 July 2014.
^ "Referee Nominations 2015 – Men's World Championship 2015 - Qatar". ihf.info. 2 January 2015.
^ "Qatar 2015 match schedule available for download". ihf.info. 21 August 2014.
^ Schedule
^ "The IHF publishes newest throw-off schedule for Qatar 2015". ihf.info. 12 December 2014.
^ "Match Schedule" (PDF). ihf.info.
^ "International Handball Federation". ihf-online.info.
^ "Player Eligibility Code" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. p. 5. Retrieved 29 January 2015. They shall not have played in any national team of another country in the three years preceding their first appearance in the national team in an official match.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Qatar's foreign legion primed for handball date with Germany". dw.de. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
^ "Falsche Fans simulieren Stimmung" [Fake fans simulate excitement]. faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ "Al Shaabi says no to further naturalisation". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
^ Wenande, Christian. "Qatar targeting Danish handball players ahead of hosting of 2015 worlds". cphpost.dk. The Copenhagen Post. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Qatar handball team coach faces questions over foreign players". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
^ "Danijel Sarić - to on "zabrał" Polakom finał MŚ". onet.pl. 30 January 2015.
^ "Qatar 'buys' noisy Spanish handball fans". thelocal.es. 16 January 2015.
^ "Dansk dommer om de mange udvisninger: IHF vil have en hård linje". dr.dk.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Team, Fans und Schiris gekauft? (German)
^ Handball-WM in Katar: Österreich hält sich für verpfiffen (German)
^ Österreich von Referees und Katar aus WM gekickt (German)
^ Reaktionen auf deutsches WM-Aus: "Man muss aufpassen, was man sagt" (German)
^ WM-Aus der deutschen Handballer: "Im Schiedsrichterwesen gibt es Grauzonen" (German)
^ Sramotno: Pogledajte trenutak kad su srpski suci pretjerali s navlačenjem za Katar Archived 1 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Croatian)
^ Polský smutek. Katar je ve finále MS v házené, pomohli mu rozhodčí (Czech)
^ Polska - Katar - czemu Katar awansował? Kontrowersje wokół drużyny gospodarzy, nie byli faworytami (Polish)
^ Michał Jurecki: Każdy wie, co tutaj się dzieje... (Polish)
^ "Radość Katarczyków, Polacy z pretensjami do sędziów". przegladsportowy.pl. 30 January 2015.
^ "Polish National Handball Team Sarcastically Applauds Officials After Controversial Loss to Qatar". thebiglead.com. 31 January 2015.

External links[]

[Awards-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Qatar 2015 All Star Team announced". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[2] "2015 World Championship hosts announced". EHF. 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.

[3] "France: World, Olympic and European Champions". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[4] "France beat Qatar to win fifth world handball title". Gulf Times. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[5] "Bronze goes to Poland". IHF. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[6] "Lusail Multipurpose Hall - 24th Men's Handball World Championship". www.qatarhandball2015.com.

[AUS-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "IHF Council Meeting held in Zagreb". ihf.info. 8 July 2014.

[BHR-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Bahrain withdraws from the 2015 Men's World Championship". ihf.info. 7 November 2014.

[UAE-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The United Arab Emirates withdraw from the 2015 World Championship". ihf.info. 10 November 2014.

[ISL_and_KSA-10] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "IHF Council decision on withdrawal of Bahrain and United Arab Emirates from 2015 Men's WCh". ihf.info. 21 November 2014.

[11] "Draw for Qatar 2015 on 20 July in Doha". ihf.info. 12 March 2014.

[12] "Groups of the 2015 Men's Handball World Championship drawn in Doha". ihf.info. 20 July 2014.

[13] "Pots and procedure for Qatar 2015 draw on 20 July". ihf.info. 11 July 2014.

[14] "Referee Nominations 2015 – Men's World Championship 2015 - Qatar". ihf.info. 2 January 2015.

[15] "Qatar 2015 match schedule available for download". ihf.info. 21 August 2014.

[16] Schedule

[17] "The IHF publishes newest throw-off schedule for Qatar 2015". ihf.info. 12 December 2014.

[18] "Match Schedule" (PDF). ihf.info.

[19] "International Handball Federation". ihf-online.info.

[20] "Player Eligibility Code" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. p. 5. Retrieved 29 January 2015. They shall not have played in any national team of another country in the three years preceding their first appearance in the national team in an official match.

[naturalisation-dw-21] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Qatar's foreign legion primed for handball date with Germany". dw.de. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

[22] "Falsche Fans simulieren Stimmung" [Fake fans simulate excitement]. faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

[naturalisation-dspq-23] "Al Shaabi says no to further naturalisation". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

[24] Wenande, Christian. "Qatar targeting Danish handball players ahead of hosting of 2015 worlds". cphpost.dk. The Copenhagen Post. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

[naturalisation-bbc-25] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Qatar handball team coach faces questions over foreign players". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

[26] "Danijel Sarić - to on "zabrał" Polakom finał MŚ". onet.pl. 30 January 2015.

[27] "Qatar 'buys' noisy Spanish handball fans". thelocal.es. 16 January 2015.

[28] "Dansk dommer om de mange udvisninger: IHF vil have en hård linje". dr.dk.

[Swissnews-29] Jump up to: ^a ^b Team, Fans und Schiris gekauft? (German)

[30] Handball-WM in Katar: Österreich hält sich für verpfiffen (German)

[31] Österreich von Referees und Katar aus WM gekickt (German)

[32] Reaktionen auf deutsches WM-Aus: "Man muss aufpassen, was man sagt" (German)

[33] WM-Aus der deutschen Handballer: "Im Schiedsrichterwesen gibt es Grauzonen" (German)

[34] Sramotno: Pogledajte trenutak kad su srpski suci pretjerali s navlačenjem za Katar Archived 1 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Croatian)

[35] Polský smutek. Katar je ve finále MS v házené, pomohli mu rozhodčí (Czech)

[36] Polska - Katar - czemu Katar awansował? Kontrowersje wokół drużyny gospodarzy, nie byli faworytami (Polish)

[37] Michał Jurecki: Każdy wie, co tutaj się dzieje... (Polish)

[38] "Radość Katarczyków, Polacy z pretensjami do sędziów". przegladsportowy.pl. 30 January 2015.

[39] "Polish National Handball Team Sarcastically Applauds Officials After Controversial Loss to Qatar". thebiglead.com. 31 January 2015.

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show v t 2015 World Men's Handball Championship qualification
Africa	2014 African Men's Handball Championship
Asia	2014 Asian Men's Handball Championship
America	2014 Pan American Men's Handball Championship
Europe	2014 European Men's Handball Championship European qualification
Oceania	2014 Oceania Handball Championship

show v t World championships in 2015
Summer sports & indoor sports	American football Aquatics paralympic swimming Archery Association football (women) Athletics cross country paralympic Badminton Beach soccer Beach volleyball Boxing (amateur) Bowls Canoeing sprint slalom Cricket Cycling road track BMX mountain bike Fencing Fistball Floorball (women) Futsal AMF men women Gymnastics artistic rhythmic trampoline Handball men women Judo Korfball Minifootball Modern pentathlon Netball Orienteering Rowing Rugby union Squash men women men's team Table tennis Taekwondo Weightlifting Wrestling Wushu
Winter sports	Alpine skiing Bandy (men) Biathlon Bobsleigh / Skeleton Curling men women mixed mixed doubles wheelchair Figure skating Freestyle skiing / Snowboarding Ice hockey men women Luge Nordic skiing Speed skating allround sprint single distance short track
Cue & mind sports	Chess women rapid blitz Darts BDO PDC Draughts men match men women match women Pool Nine-ball Ten-ball Snooker six-red
Motor sports	Air race Endurance Formula One F1 Powerboat Motocross MotoGP Moto2 Moto3 Motorcycle cross-country rally Radio-controlled 1:10 off-road Rally Rallycross Sidecarcross Superbike Supersport Touring car

2015 World Men's Handball Championship

Venues[]

Qualification[]

Qualified teams[]

Draw[]

Seedings[]

Squads[]

Referees[]

Preliminary round[]

Tie-breaking criteria[]

Group A[]

Group B[]

Group C[]

Group D[]

Knockout stage[]

Championship[]

Round of 16[]

Quarterfinals[]

Semifinals[]

Bronze medal game[]

Final[]

5–8th place playoffs[]

5–8th place semifinals[]

Seventh place game[]

Fifth place game[]

President’s Cup[]

17–20th place playoffs[]

21–24th place playoffs[]

Placement semifinals[]

23rd place game[]

21st place game[]

19th place game[]

17th place game[]

Statistics[]

Top goalscorers[]

Top goalkeepers[]

Final ranking[]

All-Star Team[]

Other awards[]

Controversy[]

Withdrawal of teams[]

Qatar player naturalisation[]

Paid fans[]

Refereeing[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]