2003 World Men's Handball Championship
International handball competition
2003 World Men's Handball Championship Host country Portugal Venue(s) 9 (in 9 host cities) Dates 20 January–2 February Teams 24 (from 5 confederations) Champions Croatia (1st title) Runner-up Germany Third place France Fourth place Spain Matches played 84 Goals scored 4,641 (55.25 per match) Top scorer(s) Carlos Pérez (HUN ) (64 goals)Best player Christian Schwarzer (GER )
The 2003 World Men's Handball Championship took place in Portugal from 20 January to 2 February 2003. It was the 18th edition of the World Championship in team handball and Croatia won the championship.
Venues
9 cities were hosts for the tournament. The final match took place in the capital Lisbon .
Qualification
First round
Group A
Group B
Group C
^ a b Croatia 23–22 France
Group D
^ a b Sweden 32–28 Denmark
Second round
Group I
Group II
^ a b Germany 31–31 Yugoslavia
Group III
Group IV
^ a b c Hungary 2Pts, +2GD; Slovenia 2Pts, +1GD; Sweden 2Pts, –3GD
Final round
5–8th place semifinals
Semifinals
7th place game
5th place game
Third place game
Final
Final standings
Qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
Ineligible to qualify for the Olympics: Greenland do not have a National Olympic Committee recognized by the IOC
2003 Men's World Champions
Croatia First title
Awards
MVP : Christian Schwarzer
All Star Team
Statistics
Top goalscorers
Top goalkeepers
Medalists
External links
World Handball Championships
Men's
Tournaments Qualification Squads
Women's
Tournaments Qualification Squads