World Men’s Handball Championship 2025 Odds: Danish Dynasty?

Denmark (-125)

The powerhouse Danish side became the first country to win three consecutive World Men’s Handball Championship gold medals. They can make more history with their fourth straight title in front of the home crowd.

In the most recent event, Denmark ousted France in a 34-29 final in Sweden. This followed a 31-22 win over Norway and a 26-24 victory over Sweden in the last two tournaments. Denmark has cemented their legacy as a handball powerhouse, and it continued at the 2024 Summer Games.

The Danes blew past Germany to make it look easy in a 39-26 final for Olympic gold in Paris. The main core of that roster remains together for the World Men’s Handball Championship. The team captain, 27-year-old pivot Johannes Golla, returns to the floor for Denmark.

Denmark didn’t lose a game in the 2024 calendar year. They went 8-0-0 in the Paris 2024 Olympics and then followed up this past November with two wins in the Euro Cup. They are coming off a 33-29 win over Sweden and a 32-27 victory against Norway.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Denmark has had two big wins over France in the last two years. In addition to the gold medal win at the 2023 World Men’s Handball Championship, they blew out the French on their home court by a score of 37-29 at the Olympics.

Denmark is the clear team to beat, and the odds for the Men’s Handball Championship 2025 demonstrate this on sports betting apps!

France (+325)

Although France remains one of the most accomplished handball nations in the world, they haven’t played like it over the last two years. France won the EHF EURO 2024 title against Denmark in a nail-biter, but otherwise, have not lived up to expectations since January 2024.

Despite being favored to win the 2024 Olympics Handball gold medal, France fell short and didn’t even reach the semifinals. They were upset by Germany in the quarterfinals, 35-34 and left as the host country much earlier than pundits expected.

France exited the Olympics with a disappointing record of 2-2-1. Their lone wins were against underdogs Argentina and Hungary. The Olympics included a shocking 26-26 draw to Egypt! That may have been the most surprising result of the Olympics for the French side.

Team France fans will be pleased to know they responded in stronger form at the Euro Cup in November. They blasted Sweden, 37-31, and then bypassed Norway, 31-27. Is this a sign of things to come for France at the World Men’s Handball Championship?

Sweden and Norway are both respectable opponents, but certainly a step behind Denmark’s talents. Nevertheless, the improved form is a promising sign for France as the tournament approaches.

Sweden (+800)

The Swedes are capable of causing some noise in the World Men’s Handball Championship. However, if they want to win the gold, it’s likely going to require a key injury or two to Denmark and France’s squads. Sweden and the rest of the field don’t have the firepower to keep pace with the top two teams in the world.

In any event, upsets happen, and oddsmakers believe that Sweden has the best chance of winning gold aside from Denmark and France. Currently, Team Sweden has an implied probability to win gold of 11.1%.

Given their current form, it would be difficult for any observer to have them as the third likeliest team to win golf. Sweden has lost three consecutive matches, including both attempts in the Euro Cup against France and Denmark. If there is any positive, they pushed Denmark to the brink in the quarterfinals of the Olympics in a 32-31 final.

Along with potential injuries to France and Denmark, goalkeeper Andreas Palicka could steal the tournament. The 38-year-old member of Paris Saint-Germain has done it before for Sweden, so we’ll see if he’s up to the task as his career nears its limit.

Palicka adds the slide tackle to his save catalogue

He has been huge for Sweden with 13 saves!

The big match player does it again! pic.twitter.com/pIOJ5JWn0e

— (Un)informed Handball Hour (@HandballHour) January 25, 2023

That said, Sweden hasn’t managed to get over the Olympics and haven’t been in their best shape in the aftermath of a competitive loss to Denmark. New head coach Michael Apelgren took over for Glenn Solberg in September, and the chemistry hasn’t been there yet.

If Apelgren’s system finally clicks at the right time, there is a chance Sweden exceeds projections, though.