Road to Men’s IHF World Championship 2027

16 nations will take part in Qualification Europe Phase 2 in March 2026, aiming for a spot for the third — and final — stage on the road to the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, hosted by Germany from 13 to 31 January 2027.

The draw event decided the two-leg ties for the upcoming phase, which includes the three countries who advanced from phase 1 — Kosovo, Türkiye and Latvia — and 13 teams who qualify directly.

Among the pre-qualified participants for Phase 2 are Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Lithuania, Belgium, Finland and Israel, as well as the fourth-ranked sides in each of the six Men’s EHF EURO 2026 preliminary round groups.

The first drawn team for each pairing is given the home right for the first leg.

2027 IHF Men’s World Championship Qualification Europe Phase 2 pairings

Play-Off Round 2

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Kosovo
Greece – Belgium
Germany / Spain / Serbia / Austria – Lithuania
Denmark / Portugal / North Macedonia / Romania – Turkey
Norway / France / Czech Republic / Ukraine – Slovakia
Slovenia / Faroe Islands / Switzerland / Montenegro – Finland
Sweden / Netherlands / Croatia / Georgia – Israel
Hungary / Poland / Iceland / Italy – Latvia