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 two best ranked teams at 2024 European Men's Handball Championship excluding Croatia, Norway and Denmark.
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 |
---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Overview
Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Luxembourg ![]() | 58–63 | ![]() | 31–28 | 27–35 |
Great Britain ![]() | 28–58 | ![]() | 16–25 | 12–33 |
Latvia ![]() | 51–58 | ![]() | 29–30 | 22–28 |
Slovakia ![]() | 58–51 | ![]() | 33–23 | 25–28 |
Turkey ![]() | 64–65 | ![]() | 37–28 | 27–37 |
Matches
All times are UTC+1.
17 January 2024[note 1] 18:45 | Luxembourg ![]() | 31–28 | ![]() | d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 457 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT) |
Hoffmann 10 | (14–15) | Cohen 6 | ||
2×![]() ![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() |
18 January 2024[note 1] 18:45 | Israel ![]() | 35–27 | ![]() | 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.
2 November 2023 20:00 | Great Britain ![]() | 16–25 | ![]() | Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, Motherwell Attendance: 340 Referees: Pétursson, Þrastarson (ISL) |
Pereira 7 | (8–11) | Helander 9 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() ![]() |
4 November 2023 15:00 | Finland ![]() | 33–12 | ![]() | Karis idrottshall, Karis Attendance: 650 Referees: Kull, Tint (EST) |
Helander 10 | (14–5) | Pereira 4 | ||
3×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
Finland won 58–28 on aggregate.
2 November 2023 18:40 | Latvia ![]() | 29–30 | ![]() | Valmiers Olympic Centre, Valmiera Attendance: 450 Referees: Oyarzun, Zaragueta (ESP) |
Geislers 12 | (12–13) | Toom 7 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() |
4 November 2023 18:00 | Estonia ![]() | 28–22 | ![]() | Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 660 Referees: Fukala, Mohyla (CZE) |
Varik 7 | (12–7) | Geislers 5 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 3×![]() |
Estonia won 58–51 on aggregate.
2 November 2023 18:00 | Slovakia ![]() | 33–23 | ![]() | City Sports Hall Považská Bystrica, Považská Bystrica Attendance: 1,400 Referees: Pagh, Thygesen (DEN) |
Prokop 7 | (15–9) | Gjuka, Ninaj 5 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
5 November 2023 17:00 | Kosovo ![]() | 28–25 | ![]() | Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Attendance: 750 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO) |
Dedaj, Ninaj 6 | (14–14) | Briatka, Macháč 4 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() ![]() |
Slovakia won 58–51 on aggregate.
1 November 2023 17:00 | Turkey ![]() | 37–28 | ![]() | Sakarya Sports Hall, Serdivan Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Ivanović, Vujisić (MNE) |
Döne, Pehlivan 10 | (15–13) | Parisini 7 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() |
5 November 2023 18:00 | Italy ![]() | 37–27 | ![]() | Pala Santa Filomena, Chieti Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Thiyagarajah, Thiyagarajah (GER) |
Mengon, Moretti 7 | (16–11) | Pehlivan 7 | ||
3×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
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
from Phase 1
Seeding
The eight teams were seeded according to the current men's national team ranking.[8]
Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Overview
Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium ![]() | 56–62 | ![]() | 25–29 | 31–33 |
Estonia ![]() | 73–62 | ![]() | 32–29 | 41–33 |
Slovakia ![]() | 52–49 | ![]() | 26–25 | 26–24 |
Finland ![]() | 46–46 3–4 (p) | ![]() | 20–20 | 26–26 |
Matches
All times are UTC+1.
13 March 2024 20:10 | Belgium ![]() | 25–29 | ![]() | Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO) |
Danesi, Serras 5 | (15–17) | Bulzamini 9 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() ![]() |
17 March 2024 18:00 | Italy ![]() | 33–31 | ![]() | Giovanni Paolo II Sports Hall, Pescara Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Brkic, Jusufhodzic (AUT) |
Bortoli 9 | (16–16) | Danesi 6 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 5×![]() ![]() |
Italy won 62–56 on aggregate.
13 March 2024 18:00 | Estonia ![]() | 32–29 | ![]() | Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 740 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER) |
Jaanimaa 11 | (18–16) | Turchenko 13 | ||
2×![]() ![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
16 March 2024 14:30 | Ukraine ![]() | 33–41 | ![]() | 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.
15 March 2024 19:30 | Slovakia ![]() | 26–25 | ![]() | Sporthalle Topoľčany, Topoľčany Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD) |
Potisk 6 | (14–16) | Bodenheimer, Segal 5 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() |
17 March 2024 14:00 | Israel ![]() | 24–26 | ![]() | 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.
14 March 2024 17:30 | Finland ![]() | 20–20 | ![]() | Energia Areena, Vantaa Attendance: 900 Referees: Borge, Nygren (NOR) |
M. Granlund, Helander 4 | (9–9) | Antanavičius 5 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 5×![]() |
17 March 2024 17:00 | Lithuania ![]() | 30–29 | ![]() | 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 |
---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Overview
Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lithuania ![]() | 49–69 | ![]() | 26–33 | 23–36 |
Slovenia ![]() | 60–60 4–1 (p) | ![]() | 26–27 | 34–33 |
Portugal ![]() | 55–45 | ![]() | 29–19 | 26–26 |
Georgia ![]() | 56–64 | ![]() | 25–27 | 31–37 |
Iceland ![]() | 87–49 | ![]() | 50–25 | 37–24 |
Greece ![]() | 56–58 | ![]() | 31–27 | 25–31 |
Spain ![]() | 54–53 | ![]() | 32–28 | 22–25 |
Italy ![]() | 66–58 | ![]() | 32–26 | 34–32 |
Romania ![]() | 51–59 | ![]() | 31–30 | 20–29 |
Poland ![]() | 61–54 | ![]() | 28–29 | 33–25 |
Faroe Islands ![]() | 60–61 | ![]() | 34–27 | 26–34 |
Matches
All times are UTC+2.
9 May 2024 18:00 | Lithuania ![]() | 26–33 | ![]() | Avia Solutions Group Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 1,901 Referees: Lovin, Stancu (ROU) |
Antanavičius 6 | (11–13) | Imre 11 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 17:15 | Hungary ![]() | 36–23 | ![]() | 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.
9 May 2024 18:00 | Slovenia ![]() | 26–27 | ![]() | Arena Bonifika, Koper Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Madsen, Mortensen (DEN) |
Vlah 5 | (15–12) | M. Zehnder 8 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 3×![]() |
12 May 2024 16:00 | Switzerland ![]() | 34–38 | ![]() | AXA-Arena, Winterthur Attendance: 1,920 Referees: Covalciuc, Covalciuc (MDA) |
M. Zehnder 7 | (12–14) | Bombač 11 | ||
2×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() | ||
FT: 33–34 Pen: 1–4 |
60–60 on aggregate. Slovenia won 4–1 on penalties.
9 May 2024 20:30 | Portugal ![]() | 29–19 | ![]() | Pavilhao Desportivo Unidade Vimaranense, Guimarães Referees: Kull, Tint (EST) |
Portela 6 | (14–10) | Vukšic 7 | ||
2×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 17:00 | Bosnia and Herzegovina ![]() | 26–26 | ![]() | KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Backović, Palačković (SLO) |
Herceg 7 | (13–17) | Branquinho 4 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() ![]() |
Portugal won 55–45 on aggregate.
9 May 2024 16:00 | Georgia ![]() | 25–27 | ![]() | Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Mažeika, Gatelis (LTU) |
Tskhovrebadze 8 | (12–12) | Frimmel 8 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 16:00 | Austria ![]() | 37–31 | ![]() | Albert Schultz Halle, Vienna Attendance: 4,099 Referees: Álvarez, Bustamante (ESP) |
Frimmel 7 | (21–17) | Tskhovrebadze 10 | ||
1×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
Austria won 64–56 on aggregate.
8 May 2024 21:30 | Iceland ![]() | 50–25 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn Attendance: 600 Referees: Vujačić, Kažanegra (MNE) |
Koks, Toom 5 | (13–18) | Þorkelsson 9 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() ![]() |
Iceland won 87–49 on aggregate.
8 May 2024 16:15 | Greece ![]() | 31–27 | ![]() | Municipal Sports Center Lefkovrisi, Kozani Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Gasmi, Gasmi (FRA) |
Toskas 7 | (13–12) | Ten Velde 10 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 4×![]() |
12 May 2024 16:00 | Netherlands ![]() | 31–25 | ![]() | Indoor-Sportcentrum Eindhoven, Eindhoven Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
Ten Velde 7 | (16–10) | Liapis 8 | ||
4×![]() | Report | 2×![]() ![]() ![]() |
Netherlands won 58–56 on aggregate.
8 May 2024 21:00 | Spain ![]() | 32–28 | ![]() | Lalín Arena, Lalín Attendance: 2,480 Referees: Hansen, Madsen (DEN) |
A. Dujshebaev 6 | (15–14) | Jovanović 6 | ||
4×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 17:00 | Serbia ![]() | 25–22 | ![]() | Spens, Novi Sad Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
Ilić 6 | (15–11) | Gómez 5 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 4×![]() |
Spain won 54–53 on aggregate.
9 May 2024 20:00 | Italy ![]() | 32–26 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | Morača Sports Center, Podgorica Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Martins, Martins (POR) |
Radović 6 | (13–17) | Bronzo, S. Mengon 8 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 3×![]() |
Italy won 66–58 on aggregate.
8 May 2024 16:30 | Romania ![]() | 31–30 | ![]() | Lascăr Pană Sports Hall, Baia Mare Attendance: 2,218 Referees: Marín, García (ESP) |
Grigoraș 9 | (15–11) | Piroch 9 | ||
2×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 16:30 | Czech Republic ![]() | 29–20 | ![]() | Winning Group Arena, Brno Attendance: 3,852 Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
Klíma 9 | (15–9) | Drăgan 5 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() |
Czech Republic won 59–51 on aggregate.
9 May 2024 18:00 | Poland ![]() | 28–29 | ![]() | Ergo Arena, Gdańsk Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR) |
Syprzak 11 | (15–16) | Briatka 11 | ||
5×![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 17:30 | Slovakia ![]() | 25–33 | ![]() | Sporthalle Topoľčany, Topoľčany Attendance: 2,050 Referees: Konjičanin, Konjičanin (BIH) |
Smetánka 6 | (12–15) | Syprzak 10 | ||
1×![]() ![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() |
Poland won 61–54 on aggregate.
8 May 2024 20:00 | Faroe Islands ![]() | 34–27 | ![]() | Høllin á Hálsi, Tórshavn Attendance: 1,632 Referees: Merz, Kuttler (GER) |
Ellefsen á Skipagøtu 10 | (18–14) | Kuzmanovski 8 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 1×![]() ![]() ![]() |
12 May 2024 19:00 | North Macedonia ![]() | 34–26 | ![]() | Boris Trajkovski Sports Center, Skopje Attendance: 6,800 Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR) |
Peševski 8 | (19–15) | Ellefsen á Skipagøtu 8 | ||
1×![]() ![]() | Report | 2×![]() |
North Macedonia won 61–60 on aggregate.
Notes
- ^ a b Due to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the matches of Israel were postponed.[6]
- ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian team plays their home matches at neutral venues.[9]
- ^ Due to the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli team plays their home matches at neutral venues.
- ^ a b c d Team not determined at time of draw.
References
- ^ "IHF Council awards events up to 2027". ihf.info. 28 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Handball-WM 2025: 1. Phase der Qualifikation ausgelost". handball-world.news. 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Denmark top new EHF men's national team ranking". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
- ^ "WM-Qualifikationsspiele gegen Israel verlegt". wort.lu. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Italian comeback highlights World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Four ties in Men's World Championship qualification to be drawn". eurohandball.com. 20 November 2023.
- ^ "EHF decision on current competition structures". eurohandball.com. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "2025 World Championship draw offers clash between Spain and Serbia". www.eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Pots for 2025 World Championship qualification draw set". www.eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 25 January 2024.
External links
- EHF website
- v
- t
- e
- 2024 European Men's Handball Championship
- European qualification