Six nations start qualification for 2027 Men’s World Championship

The 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship is set to take place in Germany between 13 and 31 January 2027. Alongside the host nation Germany and defending champions Denmark, Europe has 14 more places available at the tournament. Four of these will be known after the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, when the four best-ranked nations — apart from the two pre-qualified ones — will get their direct tickets to the World Championship.

The remaining 10 spots reserved for European contenders will be decided through three qualification phases.

Six nations representing the six lowest-ranked teams registered for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship — namely Cyprus, Great Britain, Kosovo, Latvia, Luxembourg, Türkiye — participate in Qualification Europe Phase 1, hoping to grab one of the available seats for the next round. Apart from Cyprus, all the current contenders were also part of the same qualification stage for the 2025 World Championship, but none of them managed to get further in the competition.

The first leg is scheduled for Wednesday 29 October, when Great Britain welcome Kosovo and Türkiye travel to Cyprus, while the return legs take place on Sunday 2 November. Luxembourg will enjoy the support of their own fans for both clashes against Latvia, as a thrilling double-header awaits this weekend.

Qualification Europe Phase 1, first leg:

Great Britain vs Kosovo
Wednesday 29 Oct, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Cyprus vs Türkiye
Wednesday 29 Oct, 19:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Latvia vs Luxembourg
Saturday 1 November, 20:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Qualification Europe Phase 1, second leg:

Kosovo vs Great Britain
Sunday 2 November, 17:15 CET, live on EHFTV

Türkiye vs Cyprus
Sunday 2 November, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV

Luxembourg vs Latvia
Sunday 2 November, 18:30 CET, live on EHFTV

The aggregate winner of each pair will secure their place for Qualification Europe Phase 2, scheduled for March 2026, when a total of 16 nations will compete on the long road to the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship. The final phase of the qualification in May 2026 will decide Europe’s line-up for the final tournament in Germany.

A total of 32 teams will take the stage for the 30th edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Photos © Nikolle QUNI (main), Latvian Handball Federation (in-text)