2025 World Men's Handball Championship

2025 World Men's Handball Championship

Svjetsko prvenstvo u rukometu 2025. (in Croatian) Verdensmesterskabet i håndbold for mænd 2025 (in Danish) Verdensmesterskapet i håndball for menn 2025 (in Norwegian)
Tournament details
Host countries	Croatia   Denmark   Norway
Venue(s)	5 (in 5 host cities)
Dates	14 January–2 February
Teams	32 (from 5 confederations)
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The 2025 IHF World Men's Handball Championship , will be the 29th event hosted by the International Handball Federation. It will be held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway from 14 January to 2 February 2025. ^[1] This edition marks the first time the world championship is being held in three countries.

Denmark are the triple defending world champions, having won the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions.

Bidding process

On 11 October 2018, five nations expressed interest in hosting the tournament. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

•   Croatia
•   Denmark/  Norway/  Switzerland
•   Serbia

The deadline elapsed on 25 September 2019. ^[5] Switzerland became a solo bid, while Croatia took their place in the triple bid. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Serbia withdrew their bid, while the Hungarians filed an application. These were the applicants:

•   Croatia/  Denmark/  Norway
•   Hungary (withdrew)
•   Switzerland (withdrew)

Shortly before the vote, Hungary and Switzerland both withdrew, leaving the bid of Croatia, Denmark and Norway unopposed. ^{[9] [10]} Croatia, Denmark and Norway were chosen as the hosts on 28 February 2020 at the IHF Council meeting in Cairo, Egypt. ^{[11] [12]} This will be the second time Croatia will host the World Men's Handball Championship, the third for Denmark, and the first for Norway.

Venues

The bid contained 11 cities: Zagreb, Split, Varaždin, Poreč and Dubrovnik in Croatia; ^[13] Copenhagen and Herning in Denmark; and Trondheim, Stavanger, Drammen and Oslo in Norway; with the opening match and final taking place in Oslo. ^[14]

On 25 January 2024, Denmark announced that the Jyske Bank Boxen would be their only venue for the competition. ^[15] Then, two days later, Norway announced the Telenor Arena would be their only venue for the tournament, after negotiations with Trondheim fell through due to financial reasons. ^[16]

On 8 April 2024, the IHF announced the venues, with Oslo, Herning, Zagreb, Varaždin and Poreč. being confirmed as hosts cities. The opening game will be in Herning and the final will be in Oslo. ^{[17] [18] [19] [20]} During the preparations for the tournament, the Telenor Arena was renamed the Unity Arena for the tournament. ^[21]

City/town	Country	Venue	Capacity	Image
Oslo	Norway	Unity Arena	15,000
Herning	Denmark	Jyske Bank Boxen	12,500
Zagreb	Croatia	Arena Zagreb	15,200
Varaždin		Varaždin Arena	5,200
Poreč		Žatika Sport Centre	3,700

Rejected venues
Split	Dubrovnik
Spaladium Arena	New Dubrovnik Arena
Capacity: 11,000	Capacity: 4,000
Copenhagen	Drammen
Royal Arena	New Drammen Arena
Capacity: 13,000	Capacity: 12,000
Trondheim	Stavanger
Trondheim Spektrum	Stavanger Idrettshall
Capacity: 8,960	Capacity: 4,100

Qualification

Main article: 2025 World Men's Handball Championship qualification

The World Championship hosts will be directly qualified, along with the reigning world champions. Since there are three organisers, all from Europe, the number of compulsory places for Europe is reduced by two: 2 instead of default 4. The number of compulsory places awarded to other continental confederation remains unchanged. In regards to the 12 performance spots, and based on the results of the 2023 Men's World Championship, Europe receives 11 more spots, while Africa takes 1.

The slot allocation is as follows:

• AHF (Asia): 4 slots
• CAHB (Africa): 5 slots
• EHF (Europe): 17 slots (including the three co-hosts)
• NACHC (North America and the Caribbean): 1 slot
• OCHF (Oceania): 0 slots
• SCAHC (South and Central America): 3 slots
• Wildcards: 2 slots

Detailed summary of qualification process
Confederation	Direct slots	Teams started	Teams eliminated	Teams qualified	Percentage of entered teams with spots in finals	Qualifying start date	Qualifying end date
AHF	4	16	12	4	25%	11 January 2024	25 January 2024
CAHB	5	16	11	5	31.25%	17 January 2024	27 January 2024
EHF [A]	14+3+1	34+3	19	14+3+1	41.1%	1 November 2023	12 May 2024
NACHC	1+1	6	5	1+1	16.67%	6 May 2024	12 May 2024
OCHF [B]	0 or 1	1 [C]	1	0	6.25%	11 January 2024	25 January 2024
SCAHC	3	10	7	3	30%	21 February 2023	20 January 2024
Total	27+3+2	83+3	55	27+3+2		21 February 2023	12 May 2024

Qualifying occurred between February 2023 and June 2024. Each region's continental championships acted as world championship qualification, although Europe also has its own qualification process. With the exception of Belarus and Russia, who are banned of the IHF due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all remaining IHF member associations were eligible to enter qualification. So far, 76 nations have entered the continental championships and European qualifiers, which act as world championship qualification.

Guinea will make their debut at the championship. Of the returnees Italy made their second appearance ever and first since 1997, Cuba and Kuwait are returning for the first time since the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship, Czech Republic made the championship after ten years, while Austria, Japan and Switzerland qualified after missing out on 2023. The United States made back to back appearances for the first time in 30 years. Netherlands qualified on merit for the first time ever.

Iran, Montenegro, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea and Uruguay all failed to make this edition after participating in 2023. After making their debut in 2023, Belgium failed to qualify. ^[22]

AHF (4)   Bahrain   Japan   Kuwait   Qatar CAHB (5)   Algeria   Cape Verde   Egypt   Guinea   Tunisia

EHF [D] (17+1)   Austria   Croatia (co-host)   Czech Republic   Denmark (co-host)   France   Germany   Hungary   Iceland   Italy   Netherlands   North Macedonia   Norway (co-host)   Poland   Portugal

Slovenia   Spain   Sweden    Switzerland WC NACHC (1+1)   Cuba   United States WC OCHF (0) None qualified SCAHC (3)   Argentina   Brazil   Chile

Team qualified   Team failed to qualify   Team withdrew or suspended   Did not enter

Wildcards

After no Oceanian team achieved a top 5 finish in the Asian Championship, two wildcards were given out by the IHF.

•    Switzerland
•   United States

United States was given the first wildcard on 18 October 2018, in order to prepare them for the 2028 Summer Olympics which they are hosting. ^{[23] [24]} Regarding the second wildcard, 12 nations reportedly applied. ^[25] On 23 May 2024, Switzerland was given the second wildcard by the IHF due to multiple reasons: their sporting merit, their commercial reach, their project and the IHF's TV partner request for the Swiss to be picked. ^{[26] [27] [28]} Prior to their selection, Switzerland's coach, Andy Schmid, stated that after their narrow penalty shootout loss to Slovenia, the Swiss' performance merited a wildcard. ^[29]

Draw

The Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb hosted the draw.

The draw took place at 19:30 CET in Zagreb, Croatia on 29 May 2024 at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. ^{[30] [31]} Originally scheduled for the 1 June, ^[32] it was changed a few weeks later to 29 May. ^[18] The guests for the draw were Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović, head coach of the Croatian national team, Dagur Sigurðsson, Norwegian national team player, Alexander Blonz and former Danish international player, Morten Stig Christensen, who all assisted the draw. ^[33]

Seeding

Ahead of the draw, the 32 finalist teams were seeded into four pots according to the ranking of the most recent World Championship and IHF rules. ^{[34] [30]} Although, in regards to the European teams in pots 1 and 2, the 2024 European Championship decided the teams' positions. In addition, five teams were pre-assigned by the three host nations into each of the available vacant groups: Germany in Group A, Austria in Group C, Hungary in Group D, Sweden in Group F and Slovenia in Group G. ^{[30] [35]}

Seeding based of the 2023 World Championship
Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Europe 1 Europe 2 Europe 3 Europe 4 Europe 5 Europe 6 Europe 7 Africa 1	Europe 8 Europe 9 Europe 10 Europe 11 Europe 12 Europe 13 Europe 14 Europe 15	Asia 1 South America 1 Europe 16 South America 2 North America 1 Europe 17 Asia 2 Africa 2	Asia 3 Africa 3 South America 3 Asia 4 Africa 4 Africa 5 Wild card 1 Wild card 2

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Denmark   France   Sweden   Germany   Hungary   Slovenia   Norway   Egypt	Portugal   Croatia   Austria   Iceland   Netherlands   Spain   Italy   Czech Republic	Poland   North Macedonia   Qatar   Brazil   Argentina   Cuba   Japan   Algeria	Bahrain   Tunisia   Chile   Kuwait   Cape Verde   Guinea   United States    Switzerland

Referees

The referee pairs were selected on 14 November 2024. ^[36]

Referees   Algeria Youcef Belkhiri Sid Ali Hamidi   Argentina Julian Grillo Sebastián Lenci   Argentina María Paolantoni Mariana García   Austria Denis Bolic Christoph Hurich   Bosnia and Herzegovina Amar Konjičanin Dino Konjičanin   Croatia Ante Mikelič Petar Paradina   Czech Republic Václav Horáček Jiří Novotný   Denmark Mads Hansen Jesper Madsen

Referees   Egypt Alaa Emam Hossam Hedaia   France Karim Gasmi Raouf Gasmi   Germany Robert Schulze Tobias Tönnies   Hungary Ádám Bíró Olivér Kiss   Iran Ahmad Gheisarian Amir Gheisarian   Moldova Igor Covalciuc Alexei Covalciuc   North Macedonia Slave Nikolov Gjorgji Nachevski   Montenegro Ivan Pavićević Miloš Ražnatović

Referees   Norway Lars Jørum Håvard Kleven   Romania Cristina Lovin Simona Stacu   Serbia Marko Sekulić Vladimir Jovandić   Slovakia Andrej Budzák Michaal Záhradník   Slovenia Bojan Lah David Sok   Spain Ignacio Garcia Andreu Marin   Sweden Mirza Kurtagic Mattias Wetterwik   Uruguay Mathias Sosa Cristian Lemes

Preliminary round

The schedule was announced on 8 April 2024. ^{[17] [37]}

All times are local (UTC+1).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

15 January 2025 18:00	Czech Republic	v	Switzerland	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

15 January 2025 20:30	Germany	v	Poland	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

17 January 2025 18:00	Czech Republic	v	Poland	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

17 January 2025 20:30	Switzerland	v	Germany	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

19 January 2025 15:30	Poland	v	Switzerland	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

19 January 2025 18:00	Germany	v	Czech Republic	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Algeria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Tunisia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 14 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

14 January 2025 18:00	Italy	v	Tunisia	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

14 January 2025 20:30	Denmark	v	Algeria	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

16 January 2025 18:00	Italy	v	Algeria	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

16 January 2025 20:30	Tunisia	v	Denmark	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

18 January 2025 18:00	Algeria	v	Tunisia	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

18 January 2025 20:30	Denmark	v	Italy	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Qatar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Kuwait	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 14 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

14 January 2025 18:00	France	v	Qatar	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

14 January 2025 20:30	Austria	v	Kuwait	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

16 January 2025 18:00	Kuwait	v	France	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

16 January 2025 20:30	Austria	v	Qatar	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

18 January 2025 18:00	France	v	Austria	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

18 January 2025 20:30	Qatar	v	Kuwait	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	North Macedonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Guinea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

15 January 2025 18:00	Netherlands	v	Guinea	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

15 January 2025 20:30	Hungary	v	North Macedonia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

---

17 January 2025 18:00	Netherlands	v	North Macedonia	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

17 January 2025 20:30	Guinea	v	Hungary	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

---

19 January 2025 18:00	North Macedonia	v	Guinea	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

19 January 2025 20:30	Hungary	v	Netherlands	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Norway (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Brazil	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

15 January 2025 18:00	Portugal	v	United States	Unity Arena, Oslo

15 January 2025 20:30	Norway	v	Brazil	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

17 January 2025 18:00	Portugal	v	Brazil	Unity Arena, Oslo

17 January 2025 20:30	United States	v	Norway	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

19 January 2025 18:00	Brazil	v	United States	Unity Arena, Oslo

19 January 2025 20:30	Norway	v	Portugal	Unity Arena, Oslo

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Chile	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 16 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

16 January 2025 18:00	Spain	v	Chile	Unity Arena, Oslo

16 January 2025 20:30	Sweden	v	Japan	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

18 January 2025 18:00	Spain	v	Japan	Unity Arena, Oslo

18 January 2025 20:30	Chile	v	Sweden	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

20 January 2025 18:00	Japan	v	Chile	Unity Arena, Oslo

20 January 2025 20:30	Sweden	v	Spain	Unity Arena, Oslo

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Iceland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Cape Verde	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 16 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

16 January 2025 18:00	Slovenia	v	Cuba	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

16 January 2025 20:30	Iceland	v	Cape Verde	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

18 January 2025 18:00	Cape Verde	v	Slovenia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

18 January 2025 20:30	Iceland	v	Cuba	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

20 January 2025 18:00	Cuba	v	Cape Verde	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

20 January 2025 20:30	Slovenia	v	Iceland	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Egypt	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Main round
2	Croatia (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Bahrain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Presidents Cup

First match(es) will be played: 15 January 2025. Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

15 January 2025 18:00	Egypt	v	Argentina	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

15 January 2025 20:30	Croatia	v	Bahrain	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

17 January 2025 18:00	Bahrain	v	Egypt	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

17 January 2025 20:30	Croatia	v	Argentina	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

19 January 2025 18:00	Argentina	v	Bahrain	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

19 January 2025 20:30	Egypt	v	Croatia	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

Presidents Cup

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25th place game
2	B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27th place game
3	C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	29th place game
4	D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31st place game

First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

21 January 2025 15:30	A4	v	B4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

21 January 2025 18:00	C4	v	D4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

23 January 2025 15:30	A4	v	C4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

23 January 2025 18:00	B4	v	D4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

25 January 2025 15:30	D4	v	A4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

25 January 2025 18:00	B4	v	C4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25th place game
2	F4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27th place game
3	G4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	29th place game
4	H4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31st place game

First match(es) will be played: 22 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

22 January 2025 15:30	E4	v	F4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

22 January 2025 18:00	G4	v	H4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

24 January 2025 15:30	E4	v	G4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

24 January 2025 18:00	F4	v	H4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

---

26 January 2025 15:30	H4	v	E4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

26 January 2025 18:00	F4	v	G4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

31st place game

28 January 2025 13:00	I4	v	II4	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

29th place game

28 January 2025 15:30	I3	v	II3	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

27th place game

28 January 2025 18:00	I2	v	II2	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

25th place game

28 January 2025 20:30	I1	v	II1	Žatika Sport Centre, Poreč

Main round

All points obtained in the preliminary round against teams that advance as well are carried over.

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	B1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

21 January 2025 15:30	B1	v	A1	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

21 January 2025 18:00	A2	v	B3	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

21 January 2025 20:30	A3	v	B2	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

23 January 2025 15:30	B1	v	A2	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

23 January 2025 18:00	B2	v	A1	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

23 January 2025 20:30	B3	v	A3	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

---

25 January 2025 15:30	A3	v	B1	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

25 January 2025 18:00	B2	v	A2	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

25 January 2025 20:30	A1	v	B3	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	C1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 21 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

21 January 2025 15:30	D1	v	C1	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

21 January 2025 18:00	C2	v	D3	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

21 January 2025 20:30	C3	v	D2	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

---

23 January 2025 15:30	D1	v	C2	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

23 January 2025 18:00	D2	v	C1	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

23 January 2025 20:30	D3	v	C3	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

---

25 January 2025 15:30	C3	v	D1	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

25 January 2025 18:00	D2	v	C2	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

25 January 2025 20:30	C1	v	D3	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin

Group III

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	F1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	E2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	F2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	E3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	F3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 22 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

22 January 2025 15:30	F1	v	E1	Unity Arena, Oslo

22 January 2025 18:00	E2	v	F3	Unity Arena, Oslo

22 January 2025 20:30	E3	v	F2	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

24 January 2025 15:30	F1	v	E2	Unity Arena, Oslo

24 January 2025 18:00	F2	v	E1	Unity Arena, Oslo

24 January 2025 20:30	F3	v	E3	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

26 January 2025 15:30	E3	v	F1	Unity Arena, Oslo

26 January 2025 18:00	F2	v	E2	Unity Arena, Oslo

26 January 2025 20:30	E1	v	F3	Unity Arena, Oslo

Group IV

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	G1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	H1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	G2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	H2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	G3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	H3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 22 January 2025. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

22 January 2025 15:30	H1	v	G1	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

22 January 2025 18:00	G2	v	H3	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

22 January 2025 20:30	G3	v	H2	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

24 January 2025 15:30	H1	v	G2	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

24 January 2025 18:00	H2	v	G1	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

24 January 2025 20:30	H3	v	G3	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

26 January 2025 15:30	G3	v	H1	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

26 January 2025 18:00	H2	v	G2	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

26 January 2025 20:30	G1	v	H3	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

Final round

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	28 January
	II1
					30 January
	IV2
	28 January
	IV1
									2 February
	II2
	29 January
	I2
					31 January
	III1
	29 January
									Third place
	III2
									2 February
	I1

Quarterfinals

28 January 2025 17:30	IV1	v	II2	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

28 January 2025 20:30	II1	v	IV2	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

29 January 2025 17:30	III1	v	I2	Unity Arena, Oslo

---

29 January 2025 20:30	I1	v	III2	Unity Arena, Oslo

Semifinals

30 January 2025 20:30	WQF1	v	WQF3	Arena Zagreb, Zagreb

---

31 January 2025 20:30	WQF2	v	WQF4	Unity Arena, Oslo

Third place game

2 February 2025 15:00	LSF1	v	LSF2	Unity Arena, Oslo

Final

2 February 2025 18:00	WSF1	v	WSF2	Unity Arena, Oslo

Final ranking

Places 1 to 4 and 25 to 32 were decided by play-off or knock-out. The losers of the quarter finals were ranked 5th to 8th according to the places in the main round, points gained and goal difference. Teams finishing third in the main round were ranked 9th to 12th, teams finishing fourth in the main round were ranked 13th to 16th, teams finishing fifth in the main round were ranked 17th to 20th and teams ranked sixth were ranked 21st to 24th. In case of a tie in points gained, the goal difference of the main round were taken into account, then number of goals scored. If teams would still be equal, number of points gained in the preliminary round would be considered followed by the goal difference and then number of goals scored in the preliminary round.

Rank	Team
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

Qualified for the 2027 World Men's Handball Championship

Preparations

Croatian host city, Varaždin signed their hosting contract on 26 June 2024. ^[38] In November 2024, host city Poreč also signed their contract. ^{[39] [40]}

On 22 October 2024, the official ball was released. ^[41]

On 22 November 2024, the Norwegian government allotted 10 million NOK for the tournament. ^[42]

Tickets

The first phase of ticket sales started on 15 March 2024 in Croatia, ^{[43] [15] [19] [44] [45]} while the sales started on 8 April 2024 in Denmark for people who made a federation account. ^[18] General sales in Denmark commence on 12 April 2024. Norway starts their ticket sales on 12 April 2024. ^[20]

Another round of sales in Croatia started on 5 June 2024. ^[46]

Notes

1. There are ways of qualifying from Europe, via the European Championship or European qualification
2. The Asian Championship acts as qualification for the Oceanian teams.
3. New Zealand, who is the only Oceanian who entered, participated in the Asian Championship to decide their qualification.
4. There are ways of qualifying from Europe, via the European Championship or European qualification

References

1. "IHF Council awards events up to 2027". IHF. 28 February 2020.
2. "Bidders for upcoming IHF events". IHF. 11 October 2018.
3. "Hrvatska i Srbija u borbi za Svjetsko prvenstvo 2025.!". Večernji list (in Croatian).
4. "Hrvatska želi Svjetsko rukometno prvenstvo 2025.: Glavni protukandidat - Srbija!". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian).
5. "2025 and 2027 Men's and Women's World Championships". IHF. 25 September 2019.
6. Thygesen, Kenneth (20 September 2019). "Danmark har fundet ny makker i jagten på at få VM på hjemmebane". Jyllands-Posten.
7. "SP opet u Hrvatskoj? Pridružili smo se Dancima i Norvežanima". 24 sata (in Croatian). 21 September 2019.
8. "Hrvatska, Danska i Norveška zajednički kandidati za SP u rukometu 2025". Radio 1 (in Croatian). 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
9. "VM i herrehåndbold 2025 til Danmark". DanskHåndbold. 2020-02-29. Archived from the original on 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
10. Čabraja, Jozo (January 19, 2020). "Predstavljanje kandidature Hrvatske, Danske i Norveške za SP 2025./27". hrs hr. Croatian Handball Federation.
11. "World Championships 2025 and 2027". IHF. 25 September 2019.
12. "Norway, Croatia and Denmark chase the handball World Cup in 2025". time24.news. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
13. "Hrvatska bi mogla biti suorganizator SP 2025.: "Veliki je posao uopće se kandidirati"". sportnet.hr (in Croatian).
14. "Svjetsko prvenstvo u rukometu 2025. igrat će se u Hrvatskoj!". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 28 February 2020.
15. "Jyske Bank Boxen bliver Håndboldherrernes hjemmebane til VM 2025". DanskHåndbold (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-01-30.
16. "Telenor Arena blir norsk VM-arena i 2025". Norges Håndballforbund. 27 January 2024.
17. "Host cities and schedule announced for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship". IHF. 8 April 2024.
18. "Værtsbyer og spilleplan offentliggjort for VM i herrehåndbold 2025". DanskHåndbold.
19. Čabraja, Jozo (8 April 2024). "SP 2025: Tri zemlje domaćina spremne za Svjetsko prvenstvo 2025!". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Croatian Handball Federation.
20. "Fem byer klare for Håndball-VM". Norges Håndballforbund. 8 April 2024.
21. "VM-arenaen på Fornebu får nytt navn". Norges Håndballforbund. 22 May 2024.
22. "Estonia, Lithuania, Italy and Slovakia progress in the European Qualification for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship". IHF. 19 March 2024.
23. "Strategic plan | USA" (PDF). IHF.
24. "Council Meeting No. 3" (PDF). Doha, Qatar: IHF. 18 October 2018. pp. 8–9.
25. Gjamovski, Risto. "Швајцарија оди на СП со вајлд карта". G-Sport.
26. "2025 IHF Men's World Championship wild cards announced". IHF. 23 May 2024.
27. "Endrunde sportlich verpasst - Dank Wildcard: Schweiz fährt doch noch an die WM". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). 23 May 2024.
28. "IHF vergibt Wildcard an die Schweiz – die Nati fährt an die WM 2025!". Handball Schweiz Suisse.
29. "Kann die Schweizer Handball-Nati dank einer Wildcard doch noch an der WM 2025 teilnehmen?". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). 13 May 2024.
30. "Pots revealed for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship draw". International Handball Federation. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
31. "Draw reveals fantastic groups for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship". ihf.info. 29 May 2024.
32. "Aktivnosti HRS-a: Vrlo uspješan sastanak tri organizatora SP – a 2025. Godine". Croatian Handball Federation (in Croatian). 9 January 2024.
33. "Star studded draw deliver answers 2025 IHF Men's World Championship". ihf.info.
34. "V. Regulations for IHF Competitions (Indoor Handball)" (PDF). International Handball Federation. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
35. "Македонија ќе оди во ждрепка за СП 2025". G-Sport. 21 May 2024.
36. "Referees for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship announced". ihf.info. 14 November 2024.
37. "Match schedule" (PDF). ihf.info. 8 April 2024.
38. "Aktivnosti HRS-a: Potpisan Ugovor o suorganizaciji SP 2025 s Gradom Varaždinom | HRS". 26 June 2024.
39. "Poreč potpuno spreman za Svjetsko rukometno prvenstvo u siječnju | HRS". 12 November 2024.
40. "Poreč spreman za Svjetsko prvenstvo: Gledat će se vrhunski rukomet, a stižu i legendarni Francuzi".
41. "IHF | News".
42. "Regjeringen gir 10 mill. Til VM på hjemmebane | handball.no".
43. Čabraja, Jozo (12 March 2024). "SP 2025: Još malo do početka prodaje ulaznica". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Croatian Handball Federation.
44. Čabraja, Jozo (19 March 2024). "Aktivnosti HRS-a: Silvijo Njirić direktor Svjetskog prvenstva 2025. godine / Potvrđene cijene ulaznica". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Croatian Handball Federation.
45. Čabraja, Jozo (3 May 2024). "Aktivnosti HRS – a: Druga runda prodaje ulaznica za SP 2025". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Croatian Handball Federation.
46. "SP 2025: Počinje nova runda prodaje ulaznica | HRS". 4 June 2024.

External links

• Official website
• IHF website