The World Lacrosse Men’s Championship is a quadrennial event featuring the top men’s field lacrosse teams competing for a world championship title. 

First conducted in 1967, the men’s championship has been held all over the world and now includes participating nations from each of the five continental regions. The United States leads the world with 10 titles, and Canada follows with three. The most recent men’s championship took place in Israel in 2018, with the quadrennial schedule subsequently delayed one year due to the Covid pandemic. 

The World Lacrosse Men’s Championship started as a four-team invitational tournament featuring Australia, Canada, England and the United States, coinciding with Canada’s centennial lacrosse celebration in 1967.

Australia’s lacrosse centennial celebration took place seven years later in 1974, with the same four nations invited to participate, marking the second championship. It was also the same year that the first international governing body for men’s lacrosse was formed – the International Lacrosse Federation.

Since 1974, the men’s championship has taken place every four years around the globe, with 2023 delayed one year.  

The United States won gold at four of the first five tournaments, with Canada’s memorable victory in Stockport, England, in 1978 the lone outlier.

The Haudenosaunee made their debut in 1990 and Japan made its debut in 1994, and then the field nearly doubled in size heading into 1998, as Germany, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Wales comprised the field of 11 in Baltimore, USA. The ’98 gold medal game is a seminal moment for the sport, as the U.S. beat Canada 15-14 in overtime, widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever played.

The 2002 Men’s Championship saw 16 teams head to Perth, Australia, with Hong Kong, China; Korea; Ireland and New Zealand competing for the first time.

Another pivotal moment in the history of the championship occurred when 21 teams participated in the event in London, Canada, and the host nation claimed gold for the first time in 28 years, topping the Americans 15-10 in 2006.

When the world championship headed to Manchester, England, in 2010, nearly 30 teams participated, and the United States reclaimed gold. 

The U.S. vs. Canada rivalry added another chapter in Denver, USA, in 2014 when goalie Dillon Ward earned MVP honors by holding the Americans to just five goals in the gold medal game.

That set the table for another epic event in Netanya, Israel, in 2018. A record 46 nations participated, and the gold medal once again came down to the U.S. vs. Canada, with United States midfielder Tom Schreiber scoring just before time expired to secure a 9-8 victory.

2018 Men’s Championship: A Look Back

Past Results

Member	1967	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2023
Argentina											28	36	29
Australia	2	2	3	2	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4
Austria											21	28	24	28
Belgium												27	30
Bermuda										21	18	24	37
Canada	3	3	1	3	2	2	3	2	2	1	2	1	2	2
China												33	42
Colombia												37	45
Costa Rica												38
Croatia													43
Member	1967	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2023
Czech Republic								9	10	15	13	14	26	23
Denmark										16	26		34	29
England	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	6	5	5	5	5	6
Finland										9	12	13	15
France											27	31	33	18
Germany								6	8	8	6	9	9	11
Greece													19
Haudenosaunee						5	5	4	4	4		3	3	3
Hong Kong, China									15	20	22	21	27	13
Hungary													28
Member	1967	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2023
Ireland									13	7	9	10	12	12
Israel												7	7	7
Italy										10	19	18	16	9
Jamaica													13	8
Japan							6	8	5	6	4	8	6	5
Korea									11	18	25	35	35	26
Latvia										14	20	19	18	21
Luxembourg													46
Mexico											29	23	38	16
Netherlands										12	8	16	22	14
Member	1967	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2023
New Zealand									14	19	15	12	21	25
Norway											24	25	17
Peru													39	22
Philippines													10	15
Poland											14	20	32	20
Puerto Rico													8	10
Russia												32	36
Scotland								7	7	11	7	6	11	17
Slovakia											17	26	23
Spain										17	16	30	31
Member	1967	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2023
Sweden								10	9		10	11	25	24
Switzerland											23	15	20	27
Chinese Taipei													41
Thailand												29
Turkey												22	44
Uganda												34	40	30
USA	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1
Wales								11	12	13	11	17	14	19
Total	4	4	4	4	4	5	6	11	15	21	29	38	46	30

Medal Table

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1967	USA	Australia	Canada
1974	USA	Australia	Canada
1978	Canada	USA	Australia
1982	USA	Canada	Australia
1986	USA	Canada	Australia
1990	USA	Canada	Australia
1994	USA	Australia	Canada
1998	USA	Canada	Australia
2002	USA	Canada	Australia
2006	Canada	USA	Australia
2010	USA	Canada	Australia
2014	Canada	USA	Haudenosaunee
2018	USA	Canada	Haudenosaunee
2023	USA	Canada	Haudenosaunee