Although only 19 participants are currently known for the 2027 Men’s World Handball Championship, which will be hosted by Germany, the International Handball Federation has published the pots (seeded groups) for the draw.
The draw will take place on 10 June in Munich. Croatia are placed in Pot 1. Also in that pot are reigning world champions Denmark, hosts Germany, as well as Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Egypt, and Argentina. In other words, this means Croatia will not face any of those teams in the preliminary round.
A total of 32 national teams will compete at the World Championship. In addition to the 19 teams already known, the remaining 13 places will be filled by: 10 winners of the European additional qualifiers, one winner from the North America & Caribbean tie, and—traditionally—the IHF has reserved the right to award two wild cards. The championship will be held from 13 to 31 January 2027.
In the preliminary round, teams will be drawn into eight groups of four, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the second round. The first phase of the tournament will be played in Munich, Magdeburg, Kiel, and Stuttgart; the second-round hosts will be Cologne and Hanover; and the final stage—from the quarter-finals through to the final—will be played in Cologne. It is already known that Germany will play in Group A in Munich, while Denmark will play in Kiel due to its proximity to the border, in order to attract as many Danish fans as possible.
ALL DRAW POTS:
POT 1: Denmark, Germany, CROATIA, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Egypt, Argentina
POT 2: France/Czech Republic; Finland or Montenegro/Slovenia; Norway/Türkiye or Romania; Serbia or Lithuania/Hungary; Spain/Georgia or Israel; Switzerland/Italy; Bosnia and Herzegovina or Kosovo/Faroe Islands; Ukraine or Slovakia/North Macedonia
POT 3: Netherlands/Greece or Belgium; Austria/Poland or Latvia; Brazil; Bahrain; Tunisia; Cape Verde; Chile; North America representative
POT 4: Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, Algeria, Angola, Uruguay, IHF Wild Card 1, IHF Wild Card 2
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