The Netherlands made their debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship in 1961, when they conceded two losses in their first two matches and finished on the 11th place. Since that moment, they needed to wait 62 years before returning, the longest wait for any team in the history of the competition, but ended up on the 14th place at Poland/Sweden 2023.

Every great team needs to burn some steps before becoming great and this is what the Netherlands did, with a careful and step-by-step approach to their growth. At the EHF EURO, they made three consecutive appearances in 2020, 2022 and 2024, finishing 17th, 10th and 12th respectively.

But at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, they aim higher and a quarter-finals berth is in reach, after securing three wins in their first four matches, conceding a loss against Hungary, 32:36, in the last match of the preliminary round. In the first three matches – the ones in the preliminary round – there has been a common denominator: left wing Rutger ten Velde was the Dutch side’s top scorer.

“We have had a great World Championship until now, of course, excluding the loss against Hungary, which has been a difficult match for us. We are, of course, looking at the possibility to qualify for the quarter-finals, which would be a fantastic results for us and for the Dutch handball, but we still have a lot to do until then,” says ten Velde.

So far, after four matches, the Dutch left wing is his team’s top scorer at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, as well as the overall top scorer of the competition, with 37 goals, two more than Netherlands’ former opponent in the preliminary round, Filip Kuzmanovski.

Therefore, he has scored at a better pace than Kay Smits or Luc Steins, the most experienced Dutch players, the ones to look for in the competition, especially as their opponents prepared for those two to lead the Dutch side in scoring.

 

 

 

 

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How does ten Velde adapt to this change?

“I am a wing, so I mostly rely on the team to provide me with balls in the attack, so I can do my job,” smiles the left wing.

Until now, that worked out pretty fine, with ten Velde missing only seven shots, for a fantastic 82% shooting efficiency, with 15 of those goals coming from penalties, as the left wing had ice in his veins.

“It is nice, of course, to have such numbers, especially as a wing. It is a pressure, of course, but I have been feeling excellent here, in this competition, and we want to do even better, to bring more to the Dutch handball,” adds the 27-year-old wing.

As Dutch players have been getting more and more attention now, due to their good performances in major international competitions, ten Velde did not have it as easy at the start of his career.

After playing for RKHV Volendam, in the Netherlands, he moved in 2017, when he was still just 20 years old, to Wilhelmshavener HV, in the second German league, with the level drastically improving.

“I was with Kay Smits there, and I could not speak German, it was quite a hard period, some hard months in the first part. It helped that I was closer to the Netherlands, a two and a half hour drive, so I could go home, but it was a steep learning curve,” says the left wing.

After Wilhelmshavener HV, ten Velde played at TuS Ferndorf, TuS N-Lübbecke and has been plying his trade at Frisch Auf Göppingen since the summer of 2024, being one of the most reliable players in the Bundesliga and making a name for himself.

Now, at 27 years old, he is slowly entering his prime, and was the fifth top scorer at the EHF EURO 2024, with 45 goals, now picking up where he left off at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, having already scored 37 goals, by far the largest number for the Dutch side, which has been a strong attacking presence in this competition.

But ten Velde’s presence in handball is not only on the court. While he has been an inspiration there over the past years, he is also coordinating a website in the Netherlands, www.handbalinside.nl, which aims to bring the sport closer to the masses.

The site was created by fellow Dutch player, Bobby Schagen, currently missing out on the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship due to an injury, and ten Velde decided to lend a helping hand whenever there was any need.

“The idea was my teammate’s and I thought it was a great one, to promote handball, the greatest sport on Earth, to the Dutch people. We have made great progress, both in the women’s and the men’s teams. We did not come out of nowhere, we worked a lot and we are here,” concludes ten Velde.

Currently, the Dutch side is second in the standings of their main round group, with a one-point lead over Hungary and Austria, but will still have to take something out of the next match against France, on Wednesday.

“It will be difficult, but we are up for it. We are dreaming and we want to get the best result in the competition,” says Netherlands’ left wing.