Poland stun Austria, Norway and France cruise towards World Championship 2027
The surprise of the opening day of the World Championship 2027 play-offs came from Poland, who defeated Austria 26:25 away from home. With that result, the Poles showed they are capable of performing at a high level and returning to the second tier of world handball.
Despite defeats, Italy and the Netherlands achieved solid away results and will await the return legs at home with optimism, while Norway and France have practically secured qualification for the next major competition.
Norway – Türkiye 43:30 (23:20)
Norway: Pedersen 10, Anderson 7, Sagosen 6, Lyse 6, Lien 5, Grøndahl 3, Rød 3, Hernes Hovde 2, Solstad 1.
Türkiye: Yildiz 9, Herseklioglu 6, Babacan 4, Hacioglu 3, Biçer 2, Nalbantoglu 2, Aktas 2, Ayar 2.
Austria – Poland 25:26 (13:15)
Austria: Bilyk 5, Damböck 4, Wagner 4, Nigg 4, Frimmel 3, Kofler 2, Hutecek 2, Miskovez 1.
Poland: Czapliński 8, Sićko 5, Jędraszczyk 3, Syprzak 2, Moryto 2, Daszek 1, Olejniczak 1, Pietrasik 1, Widomski 1, Gębala M. 1, Jastrzębski 1.
Greece – Netherlands 29:27 (14:12)
Greece: Panagiotou 7, Boskos 6, Toskas 5, Liapis 4, Eleftheriadis 2, Papavasilis 2, Papazoglou 1, Tsakouridis 1, Arampatzis 1.
Netherlands: Nagtegaal 8, Taboada Dranquet 7, Smits 3, Steins 2, Klompe 2, Baijens 2, Stavast 1, Ten Velde 1, Versteijnen 1.
Switzerland – Italy 32:29 (16:17)
Switzerland: Leopold 9, Sigrist 6, Zehnder M. 5, Laube 5, Rubin 2, Aellen 2, Steenaerts 2, Zehnder S. 1.
Italy: Helmerson 8, Dapiran 7, Bortoli 5, Parisini 5, Prantner 2, Mengon 1, Manojlović 1.
Czechia – France 26:37 (14:20)
Czechia: Piroch 5, Klíma 5, Bláha 4, Josef 3, Chotěborský 2, Užek 2, Režnický 2, Skopar 1, Palát 1, Březina 1.
France: Briet 7, Minne 5, Lenne 4, Remili 4, Tournat 4, Fabregas 3, Paschal 3, Nahi 3, Monar 2, Kounkoud 1, Zaepfel 1.
Poland vs Switzerland, 29th IHF Men’s World Championship 2025, Herning, Denmark, 19. 1. 25, Mandatory Credit © Nebojsa Tejic / kolektiff
