The 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship draw ceremony took place in Doha, Qatar, where the Qatar handball team was placed in Group C alongside tough competitors such as reigning Olympic champions France, Austria, and Kuwait for the first stage of the tournament. The event will be co-hosted by Croatia, Denmark, and Norway, with matches scheduled to take place from 14 January to 2 February 2025. Qatar’s matches will be held in Porec, Croatia.
The draw ceremony occurred at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, Croatia, where the 32 participating teams learned their fate for the preliminary round of the 29th edition of the world handball championship. The teams were divided into four pots, with eight groups set for the preliminary round. Co-hosts Croatia had their coach, Dagur Sigurdsson, draw their opponent from Pot 1, while goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic assigned the teams in the draw from Pot 4. Croatia will face Egypt, Argentina, and Bahrain in Group H in Zagreb.
Denmark, the reigning champions and co-hosts, will be playing in Group B in Herning alongside Italy, Algeria, and Tunisia. Norway, the other co-host, will headline Group E in Baerum, Oslo, where they will face Portugal, Brazil, and the United States of America. The draw was conducted in accordance with the regulations, assigning teams based on the host cities.
Group A is expected to be the most balanced, with Germany, Czechia, Poland, and wild card Switzerland set to battle for a spot in the main round. Group E in Baerum, Oslo, will also be challenging, as Sweden will face Spain, Japan, and Chile in a clash of different playing styles. Group D in Varazdin will see Hungary, the Netherlands, and North Macedonia facing debutants Guinea, the only team making their first appearance at the IHF Men’s World Championship in this edition.
Overall, the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship promises to be an exciting tournament with tough competition between some of the world’s best handball teams. Fans can look forward to thrilling matches as teams battle it out for supremacy and a chance to be crowned the world champions. With the draw ceremony setting the stage for the tournament, anticipation is building as the teams prepare to showcase their skills and compete for glory on the handball court.
