2025 World Men's Handball Championship – European qualification

The European qualification for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship was contested in two rounds between November 2023 and May 2024. ^[1] They joined the six already qualified teams: Croatia and Norway, as co-hosts, Denmark as co-host and title holder, France as defending runner-ups, and Sweden and Germany as the two best ranked teams at 2024 European Men's Handball Championship not already qualified.

Format

In the first round of qualification, ten teams were drawn in to knock-out ties. The winners advanced to part one of the qualification phase 2, where they join Lithuania, Ukraine and Belgium. The advancing teams then joined the 18 teams participating at the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship for the final qualifiers. ^[2]

Qualification phase 1

The draw took place on 5 July 2023. ^{[3] [4]} The winners of each tie advanced to phase 2.

Seeding

The 10 teams were seeded according to the current men's national team ranking. ^[5]

Pot 1	Pot 2
Israel   Slovakia   Finland   Turkey   Estonia	Latvia   Italy   Kosovo   Luxembourg   Great Britain

Overview

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Luxembourg	58–63	Israel	31–28	27–35
Great Britain	28–58	Finland	16–25	12–33
Latvia	51–58	Estonia	29–30	22–28
Slovakia	58–51	Kosovo	33–23	25–28
Turkey	64–65	Italy	37–28	27–37

Matches

All times are UTC+1.

17 January 2024 [note 1] 18:45	Luxembourg	31–28	Israel	d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 457 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT)
	Hoffmann 10	(14–15)	Cohen 6
	2× 7× 1×	Report	2×

18 January 2024 [note 1] 18:45	Israel	35–27	Luxembourg	d'Coque, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Attendance: 442 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT)
	Dayan 9	(15–16)	Hoffmann 8
	8×	Report	4×

Israel won 63–58 on aggregate.

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2 November 2023 20:00	Great Britain	16–25	Finland	Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, Motherwell Attendance: 340 Referees: Pétursson, Þrastarson (ISL)
	Pereira 7	(8–11)	Helander 9
	1× 2×	Report	2× 4×

4 November 2023 15:00	Finland	33–12	Great Britain	Karis idrottshall, Karis Attendance: 650 Referees: Kull, Tint (EST)
	Helander 10	(14–5)	Pereira 4
	3×	Report	1× 2×

Finland won 58–28 on aggregate.

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2 November 2023 18:40	Latvia	29–30	Estonia	Valmiers Olympic Centre, Valmiera Attendance: 450 Referees: Oyarzun, Zaragueta (ESP)
	Geislers 12	(12–13)	Toom 7
	1× 2×	Report	2×

4 November 2023 18:00	Estonia	28–22	Latvia	Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 660 Referees: Fukala, Mohyla (CZE)
	Varik 7	(12–7)	Geislers 5
	1× 6×	Report	3×

Estonia won 58–51 on aggregate.

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2 November 2023 18:00	Slovakia	33–23	Kosovo	City Sports Hall Považská Bystrica, Považská Bystrica Attendance: 1,400 Referees: Pagh, Thygesen (DEN)
	Prokop 7	(15–9)	Gjuka, Ninaj 5
	2× 2×	Report	1× 3×

5 November 2023 17:00	Kosovo	28–25	Slovakia	Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Attendance: 750 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO)
	Dedaj, Ninaj 6	(14–14)	Briatka, Macháč 4
	2× 4×	Report	2× 6×

Slovakia won 58–51 on aggregate.

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1 November 2023 17:00	Turkey	37–28	Italy	Sakarya Sports Hall, Serdivan Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Ivanović, Vujisić (MNE)
	Döne, Pehlivan 10	(15–13)	Parisini 7
	2× 6×	Report	2×

5 November 2023 18:00	Italy	37–27	Turkey	Pala Santa Filomena, Chieti Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Thiyagarajah, Thiyagarajah (GER)
	Mengon, Moretti 7	(16–11)	Pehlivan 7
	3×	Report	1× 6×

Italy won 65–64 on aggregate.

Qualification phase 2

Part 1

The winners of phase 1 joined Belgium, Lithuania and Ukraine. The matches were played in March 2024. ^[2] The draw was made on 21 November 2023. ^[7]

Qualified teams

•   Ukraine
•   Lithuania
•   Belgium

from Phase 1

•   Estonia
•   Finland
•   Israel
•   Italy
•   Slovakia

Seeding

The eight teams were seeded according to the current men's national team ranking. ^[8]

Pot 1	Pot 2
Ukraine   Lithuania   Belgium   Israel	Slovakia   Finland   Estonia   Italy

Overview

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Belgium	56–62	Italy	25–29	31–33
Estonia	73–62	Ukraine	32–29	41–33
Slovakia	52–49	Israel	26–25	26–24
Finland	46–46 3–4 (p)	Lithuania	20–20	26–26

Matches

All times are UTC+1.

13 March 2024 20:10	Belgium	25–29	Italy	Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO)
	Danesi, Serras 5	(15–17)	Bulzamini 9
	2× 3×	Report	1× 2× 1×

17 March 2024 18:00	Italy	33–31	Belgium	Giovanni Paolo II Sports Hall, Pescara Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Brkic, Jusufhodzic (AUT)
	Bortoli 9	(16–16)	Danesi 6
	1× 2×	Report	5× 1×

Italy won 62–56 on aggregate.

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13 March 2024 18:00	Estonia	32–29	Ukraine	Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 740 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER)
	Jaanimaa 11	(18–16)	Turchenko 13
	2× 5× 1×	Report	1× 4×

16 March 2024 14:30	Ukraine	33–41	Estonia	Alytus Arena, Alytus, Lithuania [note 2] Attendance: 850 Referees: Čerņavskis, Bogdanovs (LAT)
	Rahozin 6	(18–18)	Toom 9
	3×	Report	1×

Estonia won 73–62 on aggregate.

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15 March 2024 19:30	Slovakia	26–25	Israel	Sporthalle Topoľčany, Topoľčany Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD)
	Potisk 6	(14–16)	Bodenheimer, Segal 5
	1× 1×	Report	1×

17 March 2024 14:00	Israel	24–26	Slovakia	Sporthalle Topoľčany, Topoľčany, Slovakia [note 3] Attendance: 2,050 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD)
	Cohen 6	(11–13)	Potisk 6
	3×	Report	3×

Slovakia won 52–49 on aggregate.

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14 March 2024 17:30	Finland	20–20	Lithuania	Energia Areena, Vantaa Attendance: 900 Referees: Borge, Nygren (NOR)
	M. Granlund, Helander 4	(9–9)	Antanavičius 5
	1× 7×	Report	5×

17 March 2024 17:00	Lithuania	30–29	Finland	Alytus Arena, Alytus Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Jerlecki,, Łabuń (POL)
	Malašinskas 8	(13–13)	M. Granlund 6
	4×	Report	4×
	FT: 26–26  Pen: 4–3

46–46 on aggreagate. Lithuania won 4–3 on penalties.

Part 2

The four winners from Part 1 joined the 18 teams from the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship final tournament that did not qualify directly for the 2025 World Championship. ^[7] A draw held on 27 January 2024 paired seeded with unseeded teams into eleven two-legged fixtures, with the first leg played on 8 and 9 May and the second leg played on 11 and 12 May 2024. ^[10] The winners qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship final tournament.

Seeding

The 22 teams were seeded according to the ranking of the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship. ^[11] The 11 best-ranked teams were placed in Pot 1, while the remaining seven teams were placed together with the four winners from Part 1 in Pot 2.

Pot 1	Pot 2
Hungary   Slovenia   Portugal   Austria   Iceland   Netherlands   Spain   Montenegro   Czech Republic   Poland   North Macedonia	Georgia   Serbia   Faroe Islands    Switzerland   Romania   Greece   Bosnia and Herzegovina   Italy [note 4]   Estonia [note 4]   Slovakia [note 4]   Lithuania [note 4]

Overview

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Lithuania	49–69	Hungary	26–33	23–36
Slovenia	60–60 4–1 (p)	Switzerland	26–27	34–33
Portugal	55–45	Bosnia and Herzegovina	29–19	26–26
Georgia	56–64	Austria	25–27	31–37
Iceland	87–49	Estonia	50–25	37–24
Greece	56–58	Netherlands	31–27	25–31
Spain	54–53	Serbia	32–28	22–25
Italy	66–58	Montenegro	32–26	34–32
Romania	51–59	Czech Republic	31–30	20–29
Poland	61–54	Slovakia	28–29	33–25
Faroe Islands	60–61	North Macedonia	34–27	26–34

Matches

All times are UTC+2.

9 May 2024 18:00	Lithuania	26–33	Hungary	Avia Solutions Group Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 1,901 Referees: Lovin, Stancu (ROU)
	Antanavičius 6	(11–13)	Imre 11
	1× 4×	Report	2× 3×

12 May 2024 17:15	Hungary	36–23	Lithuania	Veszprém Aréna, Veszprém Attendance: 3,763 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Rosta 6	(17–10)	Dumčius 8
	3×	Report	3×

Hungary won 69–49 on aggregate.

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9 May 2024 18:00	Slovenia	26–27	Switzerland	Arena Bonifika, Koper Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Madsen, Mortensen (DEN)
	Vlah 5	(15–12)	M. Zehnder 8
	2× 3×	Report	3×

12 May 2024 16:00	Switzerland	34–38	Slovenia	AXA-Arena, Winterthur Attendance: 1,920 Referees: Covalciuc, Covalciuc (MDA)
	M. Zehnder 7	(12–14)	Bombač 11
	2×	Report	1× 5×
	FT: 33–34  Pen: 1–4

60–60 on aggregate. Slovenia won 4–1 on penalties.

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9 May 2024 20:30	Portugal	29–19	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Pavilhao Desportivo Unidade Vimaranense, Guimarães Referees: Kull, Tint (EST)
	Portela 6	(14–10)	Vukšic 7
	2×	Report	1× 5×

12 May 2024 17:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	26–26	Portugal	KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Backović, Palačković (SLO)
	Herceg 7	(13–17)	Branquinho 4
	1× 3×	Report	2× 2×

Portugal won 55–45 on aggregate.

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9 May 2024 16:00	Georgia	25–27	Austria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Mažeika, Gatelis (LTU)
	Tskhovrebadze 8	(12–12)	Frimmel 8
	1× 2×	Report	1× 5×

12 May 2024 16:00	Austria	37–31	Georgia	Albert Schultz Halle, Vienna Attendance: 4,099 Referees: Álvarez, Bustamante (ESP)
	Frimmel 7	(21–17)	Tskhovrebadze 10
	1×	Report	1× 1×

Austria won 64–56 on aggregate.

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8 May 2024 21:30	Iceland	50–25	Estonia	Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
	Magnússon 12	(26–12)	Jaanimaa 8
	2×	Report	3×

11 May 2024 17:00	Estonia	24–37	Iceland	Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 600 Referees: Vujačić, Kažanegra (MNE)
	Koks, Toom 5	(13–18)	Þorkelsson 9
	1× 2×	Report	1× 2× 1×

Iceland won 87–49 on aggregate.

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8 May 2024 16:15	Greece	31–27	Netherlands	Municipal Sports Center Lefkovrisi, Kozani Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Gasmi, Gasmi (FRA)
	Toskas 7	(13–12)	Ten Velde 10
	1× 6×	Report	4×

12 May 2024 16:00	Netherlands	31–25	Greece	Indoor-Sportcentrum Eindhoven, Eindhoven Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Ten Velde 7	(16–10)	Liapis 8
	4×	Report	2× 2× 1×

Netherlands won 58–56 on aggregate.

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8 May 2024 21:00	Spain	32–28	Serbia	Lalín Arena, Lalín Attendance: 2,480 Referees: Hansen, Madsen (DEN)
	A. Dujshebaev 6	(15–14)	Jovanović 6
	4×	Report	1× 3×

12 May 2024 17:00	Serbia	25–22	Spain	Spens, Novi Sad Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO)
	Ilić 6	(15–11)	Gómez 5
	1× 5×	Report	4×

Spain won 54–53 on aggregate.

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9 May 2024 20:00	Italy	32–26	Montenegro	Pala San Giacomo, Conversano Attendance: 3,900 Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI)
	Bronzo 13	(16–15)	Kaluđerović 6
	3×	Report	3×

12 May 2024 17:30	Montenegro	32–34	Italy	Morača Sports Center, Podgorica Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Martins, Martins (POR)
	Radović 6	(13–17)	Bronzo, S. Mengon 8
	2× 1×	Report	3×

Italy won 66–58 on aggregate.

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8 May 2024 16:30	Romania	31–30	Czech Republic	Lascăr Pană Sports Hall, Baia Mare Attendance: 2,218 Referees: Marín, García (ESP)
	Grigoraș 9	(15–11)	Piroch 9
	2× 4×	Report	1× 3×

12 May 2024 16:30	Czech Republic	29–20	Romania	Winning Group Arena, Brno Attendance: 3,852 Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Klíma 9	(15–9)	Drăgan 5
	1× 5×	Report	2×

Czech Republic won 59–51 on aggregate.

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9 May 2024 18:00	Poland	28–29	Slovakia	Ergo Arena, Gdańsk Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Syprzak 11	(15–16)	Briatka 11
	5×	Report	1× 6×

12 May 2024 17:30	Slovakia	25–33	Poland	Sporthalle Topoľčany, Topoľčany Attendance: 2,050 Referees: Konjičanin, Konjičanin (BIH)
	Smetánka 6	(12–15)	Syprzak 10
	1× 3× 1×	Report	1× 2×

Poland won 61–54 on aggregate.

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8 May 2024 20:00	Faroe Islands	34–27	North Macedonia	Høllin á Hálsi, Tórshavn Attendance: 1,632 Referees: Merz, Kuttler (GER)
	Ellefsen á Skipagøtu 10	(18–14)	Kuzmanovski 8
	1× 2×	Report	1× 8× 1×

12 May 2024 19:00	North Macedonia	34–26	Faroe Islands	Boris Trajkovski Sports Center, Skopje Attendance: 6,800 Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR)
	Peševski 8	(19–15)	Ellefsen á Skipagøtu 8
	1× 3×	Report	2×

North Macedonia won 61–60 on aggregate.

Notes

1. Due to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the matches of Israel were postponed. ^[6]
2. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian team plays their home matches at neutral venues. ^[9]
3. Due to the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli team plays their home matches at neutral venues.
4. Team not determined at time of draw.

References

1. "IHF Council awards events up to 2027". ihf.info. 28 February 2020.
2. "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
3. "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
4. "Handball-WM 2025: 1. Phase der Qualifikation ausgelost". handball-world.news. 5 July 2023.
5. "Denmark top new EHF men's national team ranking". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
6. "WM-Qualifikationsspiele gegen Israel verlegt". wort.lu. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
7. "Italian comeback highlights World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 6 November 2023.
8. "Four ties in Men's World Championship qualification to be drawn". eurohandball.com. 20 November 2023.
9. "EHF decision on current competition structures". eurohandball.com. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
10. "2025 World Championship draw offers clash between Spain and Serbia". www.eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
11. "Pots for 2025 World Championship qualification draw set". www.eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 25 January 2024.

External links

• EHF website