2003 World Men's Handball Championship

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.

Town	Stadium	max. spectators
Lisbon	Pavilhão Atlântico	15.000
Rio Maior	Pavilhão Polidesportivo	6.500
São João da Madeira	Pavilhão das Travessas	6.000
Guimarães	Pavilhão Multiusos	3.000
Viseu	Viseu Arena	2.600
Funchal	Madeira Tecnopolo	2.500
Caminha	Pavilhão Municipal	2.500
Póvoa de Varzim	Pavilhão Desportivo	2.500
Espinho	Pavilhão Multiusos NW	2.000

First round

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

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Second round

Group I

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Group II

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Group III

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Group IV

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Final round

5–8th place semifinals

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Semifinals

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Final standings

Rank	Team



4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

2003 Men's World Champions
Croatia
First title

Awards

MVP: Christian Schwarzer

All Star Team

Goalkeeper: Henning Fritz
Left Wing: Eduard Koksharov
Left Back: Carlos Pérez
Center Back: Enric Masip
Pivot : Christian Schwarzer
Right Back: Patrick Cazal
Right Wing: Mirza Džomba