Denmark target trophy defence at Men’s World Championship

The 2023 World Championship saw an all-European podium, with Denmark beating France in the final — one year before France overturned the result in the title-deciding game at the EURO — and Spain taking the bronze medal ahead of Sweden. The same teams had also played the semi-finals at the previous World Championship and were the top four at the Men’s EHF EURO 2022.

France are the record winners of the Men’s World Championship, but no team had taken the trophy three times in a row until Denmark did so in 2023. There is one key difference for Denmark as they embark on their 2025 World Championship campaign however — it is the first major tournament for the side following the retirements of legends Mikkel Hansen (end of career) and Niklas Landin (national team only). The two were key in the three world titles won from 2019 to 2023, with Hansen named MVP of the 2019 and 2021 World Championships before his teammate Mathias Gidsel took the individual award in 2023.

It will also be the first World Championship without the individual record holder for titles won in men’s handball: Nikola Karabatic, who celebrated 11 trophies with France, including four in the global national team competition. Karabatic ended his illustrious career at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Among those who can be expected to continue filling Karabatic’s big shoes in the France squad at the 2025 World Championship will be MVP of the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, Nedim Remili. Remili has previously earned two World Championship All-star Team nods, making the best seven in 2017 and 2023.

A long road from the opening whistle to the medals

The World Championship begins with the 32 teams divided into eight preliminary round groups, each featuring four sides. The teams ranked first to third in each group progress to the main round, which sees four groups of six squads. From the main round, the two top-ranked teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals. The teams that do not reach the main round play a series of placement games in the President’s Cup.

Along with Bærum in Norway and Herning in Denmark, three Croatian cities play host to the World Championship: Zagreb, Varaždin and Poreč. All five cities will host preliminary round games, before Bærum, Herning, Zagreb and Varaždin take the main round spotlight. The President’s Cup will take place in Poreč. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played in Bærum and Zagreb, and the final day in Bærum.

Denmark will start their title defence from group B on familiar territory, in Herning, where they will meet Italy, Algeria and Tunisia. Italy are making their return to the World Championship after a 28-year wait. They reached the World Championship with a surprise victory over Montenegro in the European qualification phase.

European champions and silver medallists at the 2023 World Championship France start in group C in Poreč, playing surprise package of the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 Austria, as well as Qatar and Kuwait.

The bronze medallists at the last two World Championships and Paris 2024, Spain, who won back-to-back EURO titles in 2018 and 2020 but crashed out in the preliminary round at the 2024 edition, begin in the same group as Sweden. Sweden lost the 3/4 placement match to Spain at the last World Championship on home ground in Stockholm, after reaching their first final in the event in two decades in 2021. It was Spain that Sweden defeated in the EHF EURO 2022 final to reclaim the European title after 20 years.

The two European powerhouses will play Japan and Chile in group F in Bærum.

Germany, who made the EHF EURO 2024 semi-finals and placed fourth before making it to the Olympic final at Paris 2024, will start their campaign in all-European group A, playing Czechia, Poland and Switzerland.

World Championship co-hosts Croatia start in group H in Zagreb, where they will face teams from three different continents: Bahrain, Argentina and Egypt. Norway play from group E in Bærum, meeting Brazil, the USA and Portugal.  

Photos: kolektiff images (Men's EHF EURO 2024) / Montenegro Handball Federation (Italy qualification)