Sweden vs Cape Verde Prediction & Betting Tips - Handball World Championship

Prediction published on 12/01/2023, 15:36  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 13/01/2023 at 09:39 in Handball World Championship Predictions

Sweden  made a winning start to their 2023 Men's World Handball Championships campaign beating Brazil 26-18. They now take on Cape Verde who also won their opening match in Group C of the preliminary round. The four-time world champions are having a long wait for their fifth title. They last became world champions in 1999 but came close in 2021 when being beaten by Denmark in the final. As they are one of the co-hosts for these championships (the final is being played in Stockholm), they will fancy their chances of winning the title. They are the current European champions and have only lost two of their last 15 matches.

Cape Verde are in only their second world championships. They're having better luck than in their first appearance two years when having to withdraw. That was due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the camp that saw them without enough fit players to take part. Since then, they've reached the final of the 2022 African Championships, losing to Egypt in the final. That qualified them for these championships and they got off to a great start with a 33-25 win over Uruguay. It's likely they'll qualify for the main round with only the side finishing bottom not going through. A win over Brazil might be needed unless they can cause a major shock and defeat Sweden but we aren't anticipating that happening.