1970 World Men's Handball Championship

The 1970 World Men's Handball Championship was the seventh team handball World Championship. It was held in France between 26 February-8 March 1970. Romania won the championship.

1970 World Men's Handball Championship

Tournament details
Host country	France
Dates	26 February-8 March
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Romania
Runner-up	East Germany
Third place	Yugoslavia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	42
Goals scored	1,262 (30.05 per match)

Qualification

Competition	Dates	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nations		1	France
1967 World Championship	12–21 January 1967	3	Czechoslovakia Denmark Romania
Asia		1	Japan
Europe and Africa Qualification	15 November – 7 December 1969	10	East Germany Hungary Iceland Norway Poland Soviet Union Sweden Switzerland West Germany Yugoslavia
North America Qualification	15–30 November 1969	1	United States1

¹First Canada was qualified but was disqualified because they used a Danish player.

Results

Preliminary round

GROUP A

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
26 Feb	Saint-Nazaire	East Germany - Soviet Union	13-11	(8-6)0
26 Feb	Quimper	Sweden - Norway	8-6	(5-2)
28 Feb	Rennes	Soviet Union - Norway	10-9	(5-4)
28 Feb	Rennes	Sweden - East Germany	11-9	(5-4)
1 Mar	Nantes	East Germany - Norway	10-8	(5-3)
1 Mar	Nantes	Soviet Union - Sweden	12-11	(6-5)

Group A	Games	Goals	Points
Sweden	3	30-27	4
East Germany	3	32-30	4
Soviet Union	3	33-33	4
Norway	3	23-28	0

GROUP B

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
26 Feb	Bayonne	Czechoslovakia - Japan	19-9	(8-2)
26 Feb	Angoulême	Yugoslavia- USA	34-8	(22-3)
28 Feb	Agen	Czechoslovakia - USA	23-9	(13-5)
28 Feb	Agen	Yugoslavia - Japan	17-17	(10-8)
1 Mar	Toulouse	Japan - USA	21-15	(10-7)
1 Mar	Toulouse	Czechoslovakia - Yugoslavia	16-15	(8-11)

Group B	Games	Goals	Points
Czechoslovakia	3	58-33	6
Yugoslavia	3	66-41	3
Japan	3	47-51	3
United States	3	32-78	0

GROUP C

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
26 Feb	Paris	Romania - France	12-9	(7-2)
26 Feb	Rouen	West Germany - Switzerland	11-10	(7-3)
28 Feb	Amiens	Romania - Switzerland	22-7	(9-6)
28 Feb	Évreux	West Germany - France	15-12	(10-6)
1 Mar	Caen	France - Switzerland	15-12	(7-3)
1 Mar	Caen	West Germany - Romania	15-14	(5-9)

Group C	Games	Goals	Points
West Germany	3	41-36	6
Romania	3	48-31	4
France	3	36-39	2
Switzerland	3	29-48	0

GROUP D

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
26 Feb	Longwy	Denmark - Poland	23-16	(10-6)
26 Feb	Mulhouse	Hungary - Iceland	19-9	(9-3)
28 Feb	Hagondange	Denmark - Iceland	19-13	(9-6)
28 Feb	Strasbourg	Hungary- Poland	15-9	(4-4)
1 Mar	Metz	Iceland - Poland	21-18	(14-9)
1 Mar	Metz	Hungary - Denmark	24-19	(13-6)

Group D	Games	Goals	Points
Hungary	3	58-37	6
Denmark	3	61-53	4
Iceland	3	43-56	2
Poland	3	43-59	0

Placement Round (9-12 pos.)

The four third placed teams from the preliminary round played a round robin tournament for positions 9-12.

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
3 Mar	Paris	Soviet Union - France	25-14	(13-7)
3 Mar	Creil	Japan - Iceland	20-19	(12-9)
4 Mar	Paris	Soviet Union - Iceland	19-15	(8-5)
5 Mar	Paris	Japan - France	22-13	(13-7)
6 Mar	Paris	Soviet Union - Japan	28-12	(11-6)
6 Mar	Paris	Iceland - France	19-17	(12-10)

Placement Round		Games	Goals	Points
9.	Soviet Union	3	72-41	6
10.	Japan	3	54-60	4
11.	Iceland	3	53-56	2
12.	France	3	44-66	0

Main Round

The top two finishers from each preliminary round group progressed to the quarter-finals. The winners progressed to the semi-final stage, while losers played for positions 5-8.

Quarter-finals

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
3 Mar	Paris	Romania - Sweden	15-13	(10-6)
3 Mar	Orléans	East Germany - West Germany	18-17• ET 16-16	(11-8)
3 Mar	Besançon	Denmark - Czechoslovakia	18-16	(10-7)
3 Mar	Grenoble	Yugoslavia - Hungary	11-10	(5-6)

Semi-finals

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
5 Mar	Lyon	Romania - Denmark	18-12	(9-6)
5 Mar	Bordeaux	East Germany - Yugoslavia	17-13	(8-6)

Bronze medal game

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
7 Mar	Paris	Yugoslavia - Denmark	29-12	(13-6)

Final

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
8 Mar	Paris	Romania - East Germany	13-12 (after extra time)	(4-5) 10-10 (11-11 during extra time)

Positions 5-8

Semi-Final Round

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
5 Mar	Évreux	Sweden - Czechoslovakia	12-11	(5-7)
5 Mar	Troyes	West Germany - Hungary	15-13	(8-7)

7-8 pos.

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
7 Mar	Paris	Czechoslovakia- Hungary	21-14	(12-4)

5-6 pos.

Date	Venue	Game	Res.	Half
7 Mar	Paris	West Germany - Sweden	15-14	(8-8)

Source: International Handball Federation

Final standings

The national team of Romania, world champions in 1970

Places 1–8 were decided by play–off or knock–out. Places 9–12 were decide by a placement round. Teams finishing fourth in the preliminary round are ranked 13 to 16. In case of a tie in points gained, the goal difference of the preliminary round were taken into account.

Rank	Team
	Romania
	East Germany
	Yugoslavia
4	Denmark
5	West Germany
6	Sweden
7	Czechoslovakia
8	Hungary
9	Soviet Union
10	Japan
11	Iceland
12	France
13	Norway
14	Poland
15	Switzerland
16	United States

External links

• IHF website
• todor66.com