RESERVE YOUR PLACE – Buy tickets for World Championship 2023
The handball world is in for a real treat, as usual, already in the opening weeks of the new year. From January 11 to 29, for the second time in two countries after the premiere in Germany and Denmark in 2019, the Men’s World Cup will be held in Poland (Katowice, Kraków, Plock and Gdańsk) and Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, Jönköping, Kristianstad and Gothenburg). From the opening match between the home team and France in Katowice to the final duel in the magnificent Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, handball fans around the world will enjoy the clashes of 32 of the world’s best teams.
The idea of the International Handball Federation to make the biggest intercontinental competition as colorful as possible came to life in Egypt two years ago at the World Cup 2021, when a change actually happened in increasing the number of participants from 24 to 32 national teams. Spectators could not enjoy it due to the well-known situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, so the competition in Central Europe and Scandinavia will be a real opportunity to bring spectators back to the stands.
YOU CAN BUY TICKETS ONLINE for matches in Poland (from 4 EUR)
GROUP A (Krakow) – Spain, Montenegro, Chile, Iran
GROUP B (Katowice) – France, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia
GROUP C (Gothenburg) – Sweden, Brazil, Cape Verde, Uruguay
GROUP D (Kristiansand) – Iceland, Portugal, Hungary, Korea
GROUP E (Katowice) – Germany, Qatar, Serbia, Algeria
GROUP F (Krakow) – Norway, Macedonia, Argentina, Netherlands
GROUP G (Jonkoping) – Egypt, Croatia, Morocco, USA
GROUP H (Malmo) – Denmark, Belgium, Bahrain, Tunisia
HIGH STAKE – QUALIFYING FOR TOKYO
The fight for medals, as always, will be a stage only for the selected ones, and much more important than that for most selections will be the placing up to seventh place, which guarantees Olympic qualifications. Therefore, the 2023 World Cup in Poland and Sweden is a key moment to show the best possible form. It is already known that the world champion will win a direct qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games, and that those placed from second to seventh place will have the chance to win a visa for the biggest sports event through the qualifications in the spring of 2024. Due to the results of the 2024 European Championship, that ranking can be moved to eighth or ninth place, which could be enough in the end. That’s why the battle for the quarterfinals, in which two national teams from each of the four groups of the main phase go, will be very interesting, given that the Olympic qualifications are reached for the first time in this format with 32 national teams.