Handball will be in the spotlight from the start of 2025 with the World Championships.
The Men’s Handball World Cup takes place from January 14, 2025 and ends on February 2 in three different countries. The choice fell on Denmark, Croatia and Norway, three quality hosts who no longer have anything to prove in world handball. In detail, two preliminary round groups, one main round group, two quarter-finals, a semi-final, as well as the bronze medal match and the grand final will be played at the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway. . Two more preliminary round groups and one main round group will take place in Herning in Denmark, while Croatia will host 4 preliminary groups with two groups in Zagreb, one in Porec and one in Varazdin. One main round group will be played in Zagreb and another in Varazdin, the last match played on Croatian soil will be one of the semi-finals at the Zagreb Arena.
For the third time in history, the handball world championship will be contested with 32 teams. The format remains the same with eight preliminary groups from A to H then 4 groups for the main round before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. For this edition, the French team must rebuild itself after its disillusionment during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the reconstruction takes place without the big stars Nikola Karabatic, Vincent Gérard or even Valentin Porte.
World Handball Groups
- Group A (Herning) : Germany, Czechia, Poland, Switzerland
- Group B (Herning) : Denmark, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia
- Group C (Porec) : France, Austria, Qatar, Kuwait
- Group D (Varazdin) : Hungary, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Guinea
- Group E (Oslo) : Norway, Portugal, Brazil, United States
- Group F (Oslo) : Sweden, Spain, Japan, Chile
- Group G (Zagreb) : Slovenia, Iceland, Cuba, Cape Verde
- Group H (Zagreb) : Egypt, Croatia, Argentina, Bahrain
Calendar of the World Handball Championship
The preliminary round takes place from January 14 to January 21 with three matches on the program for the France team
- January 14, 2025 : France – Qatar
- January 16, 2025 : Kuwait – France
- January 18, 2025 : France – Austria
The main round will be played from January 21 to 25 for Group I (3 qualifiers from Groups A and B) and II (3 qualifiers from Groups C and D) and from January 22 to 26 for Group III (3 qualifiers from Groups E). and F) and IV (3 qualified from groups G and H).
Quarter-finals
- January 28 – Zagreb: 1st group II – 2nd in group IV
- January 28 – Zagreb: 1st group IV – 2nd in group II
- January 29 – Baerum: 1st group I – 2nd in group III
- January 29 – Baerum: 1st group III – 2nd in group I
Semi-finals
- January 30 – To Zagreb
- January 31 – In Oslo
Finals
February 2 – In Oslo