# 2025 World Men's Handball Championship qualification

The 2025 World Men's Handball Championship qualification decided who qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship in Croatia, Denmark and Norway. Qualifying occurred between February 2023 and June 2024. The championship will feature 32 teams for the third time.

## Qualified teams

| Country | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances |
| Croatia | Co-host | 28 February 2020 | 15 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Denmark | Co-host | 28 February 2020 | 25 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Norway | Co-host | 28 February 2020 | 17 (1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| United States | Wildcard | 18 October 2018 | 7 (1964, 1970, 1974, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2023) |
| Brazil | Top three at 2024 South and Central American Championship | 18 January 2024 | 16 (1958, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Japan | Semifinalist at 2024 Asian Championship | 19 January 2024 | 15 (1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2021) |
| Qatar | Semifinalist at 2024 Asian Championship | 19 January 2024 | 9 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Argentina | Top three at 2024 South and Central American Championship | 19 January 2024 | 14 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Chile | Top three at 2024 South and Central American Championship | 19 January 2024 | 7 (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Kuwait | Semifinalist at 2024 Asian Championship | 21 January 2024 | 8 (1982, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) |
| Bahrain | Semifinalist at 2024 Asian Championship | 21 January 2024 | 5 (2011, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Sweden | Semifinalist at 2024 European Championship | 21 January 2024 | 26 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| France | Semifinalist at 2024 European Championship | 22 January 2024 | 24 (1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1978, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Cape Verde | Top five at 2024 African Championship | 23 January 2024 | 2 (2021, 2023) |
| Algeria | Top five at 2024 African Championship | 23 January 2024 | 16 (1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2023) |
| Egypt | Top five at 2024 African Championship | 23 January 2024 | 17 (1964, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Tunisia | Top five at 2024 African Championship | 23 January 2024 | 16 (1967, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Germany | Semifinalist at 2024 European Championship | 24 January 2024 | 27 (1938, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Guinea | Top five at 2024 African Championship | 26 January 2024 | 0 (debut) |
| Iceland | European playoffs | 11 May 2024 | 22 (1958, 1961, 1964, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Austria | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 7 (1938, 1958, 1993, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021) |
| Netherlands | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 2 (1961, 2023) |
| Slovenia | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 10 (1995, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2023) |
| Czech Republic | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 6 (1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2015) |
| Portugal | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 5 (1997, 2001, 2003, 2021, 2023) |
| Hungary | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 22 (1958, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Spain | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 22 (1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Poland | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 17 (1958, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2023) |
| Italy | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 1 (1997) |
| North Macedonia | European playoffs | 12 May 2024 | 8 (1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) |
| Cuba | Winner of the 2024 Nor.Ca. Championship | 12 May 2024 | 7 (1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2009) |
| Switzerland | Wildcard | 23 May 2024 | 11 (1954, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2021) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host country for that year.
    $^2$ From both German teams only East Germany was qualified in 1990

## Slot allocation

The slot allocation is as follows:
* AHF (Asia): 4 slots
* CAHB (Africa): 5 slots
* EHF (Europe): 17 slots (including the three co-hosts)
* NACHC (North America and the Caribbean): 1 slot
* OCHF (Oceania): 0 slots
* SCAHC (South and Central America): 3 slots
* Wildcards: 2 slots
| Detailed distribution of places (following current IHF rules) | Vacancies | Details | Comments |
| Organisers | 3 | | |
| Reigning world champion | 1 | | |
| Performance places for the continental confederations | 12 | | Based on teams ranked 1–12 in the preceding world championship |
| Africa | | 1 | As Egypt ranked 7th in previous World Championship |
| Asia | | 0 |
| Europe | | 11 |
| North America and the Caribbean | | 0 |
| South and Central America | | 0 |
| Oceania | | 0 |
| Compulsory places for the continental confederations | 15 | | 17 compulsory places reduced by 2 due to having three organisers |
| Africa | | 4 |
| Asia | | 4 |
| Europe | | 2 | 4 compulsory places reduced by 2 due to having three organisers from Europe |
| North America and the Caribbean | | 1 |
| South and Central America | | 3 |
| Oceania | | 0 or 1 | Place allocated to Oceania or an additional free wild card |
| Wild card | 1 or 2 | |
| Total | 32 | |

## Summary
### Summary of qualification process

The World Championship hosts will be directly qualified, along with the reigning world champions. In regards to the 12 performance spots, and based on the results of the 2023 Men's World Championship, Europe receives 11 more spots, while Africa takes 1.
Map of each IHF federation. :
| Detailed summary of 2025 World Men's Handball Championship qualification process ||||||||
| Confederation | Direct slots | Teams started | Teams eliminated | Teams qualified | Percentage of entered teams with spots in finals | Qualifying start date | Qualifying end date |
| AHF | 4 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 25% | 11 January 2024 | 25 January 2024 |
| CAHB | 5 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 31.25% | 17 January 2024 | 27 January 2024 |
| EHF | 14+3+1 | 34+3 | 19 | 14+3+1 | 41.1% | 1 November 2023 | 12 May 2024 |
| NACHC | 1+1 | 6 | 5 | 1+1 | 16.67% | 6 May 2024 | 12 May 2024 |
| OCHF | 0 or 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.25% | 11 January 2024 | 25 January 2024 |
| SCAHC | 3 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 30% | 21 February 2023 | 20 January 2024 |
| Total | 27+3+2 | 76+3 | 49 | 27+3+2 | | 21 February 2023 | 12 May 2024 |

### Summary of qualified teams

| Competition | Dates | Host | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host nations | 28 February 2020 | Cairo | 3 | Croatia Denmark Norway |
| 2023 World Championship | 11–29 January 2023 | Poland Sweden | 1 | None |
| 2024 European Men's Handball Championship | 10–28 January 2024 | Germany | 3 | France Germany Sweden |
| 2024 Asian Men's Handball Championship | 11–25 January 2024 | Bahrain | 4 | Bahrain Japan Kuwait Qatar |
| 2024 South and Central American Men's Handball Championship | 16–20 January 2024 | Argentina | 3 | Argentina Brazil Chile |
| 2024 African Men's Handball Championship | 17–27 January 2024 | Egypt | 5 | Algeria Cape Verde Egypt Guinea Tunisia |
| 2024 Nor.Ca. Men's Handball Championship | 6–12 May 2024 | Mexico | 1 | Cuba |
| European qualification | 1 November 2023 – 12 May 2024 | Various | 11 | Austria Czech Republic Hungary Iceland Italy Netherlands North Macedonia Poland Portugal Slovenia Spain |
| Oceania | | | 0 | |
| Wildcards | 18 October 2018 | Doha | 2 | Switzerland United States |

## World Championship

World champion directly qualified for 2025 edition. However, 2025 co-hosts Denmark won the 2023 World Championship, so no one took the spot.
| Rank | Team |
| | Denmark |
| | France |
| | Spain |
| 4 | Sweden |
| 5 | Germany |
| 6 | Norway |
| 7 | Egypt |
| 8 | Hungary |
| 9 | Croatia |
| 10 | Slovenia |
| 11 | Serbia |
| 12 | Iceland |
| 13 | Portugal |
| 14 | Netherlands |
| 15 | Poland |
| 16 | Bahrain |
| 17 | Brazil |
| 18 | Montenegro |
| 19 | Argentina |
| 20 | United States |
| 21 | Belgium |
| 22 | Qatar |
| 23 | Cape Verde |
| 24 | Iran |
| 25 | Tunisia |
| 26 | Chile |
| 27 | North Macedonia |
| 28 | South Korea |
| 29 | Saudi Arabia |
| 30 | Morocco |
| 31 | Algeria |
| 32 | Uruguay |

## Asia

Sixteen teams competed in the Asian Championship, held at the Sheikh Khalifa Sports City Hall in Isa Town, Bahrain, from 11 to 25 January 2024. The top 4 reached the world championship. Since New Zealand, failed to make the top 5 of the championship, Oceania's spot was made into a second wildcard. Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan and Qatar reached the world championship.
| Rank | Team |
| | Qatar |
| | Japan |
| | Bahrain |
| 4 | Kuwait |
| 5 | South Korea |
| 6 | Iran |
| 7 | United Arab Emirates |
| 8 | Iraq |
| 9 | Saudi Arabia |
| 10 | China |
| 11 | Chinese Taipei |
| 12 | Oman |
| 13 | Hong Kong |
| 14 | Kazakhstan |
| 15 | New Zealand |
| 16 | India |
* Qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship
* Oceanian representative

## Africa

Sixteen teams competed in the African Championship, held in Cairo, Egypt, from 17 to 27 January 2024. The top five from the championship qualified. Those teams ended up being Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Guinea and Tunisia.
| Rank | Team |
| | Egypt |
| | Algeria |
| | Tunisia |
| 4 | Cape Verde |
| 5 | Guinea |
| 6 | DR Congo |
| 7 | Morocco |
| 8 | Angola |
| 9 | Nigeria |
| 10 | Cameroon |
| 11 | Gabon |
| 12 | Libya |
| 13 | Congo |
| 14 | Rwanda |
| 15 | Kenya |
| 16 | Zambia |
* Team qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship

## Europe

The three highest ranked non-qualified teams secure a ticket to the world championship. Since Denmark (who finished second) already qualified as a co-host, fourth placed Germany took the place.
| Rank | Team |
| | France |
| | Denmark |
| | Sweden |
| 4 | Germany |
| 5 | Hungary |
| 6 | Slovenia |
| 7 | Portugal |
| 8 | Austria |
| 9 | Norway |
| 10 | Iceland |
| 11 | Croatia |
| 12 | Netherlands |
| 13 | Spain |
| 14 | Montenegro |
| 15 | Czech Republic |
| 16 | Poland |
| 17 | North Macedonia |
| 18 | Georgia |
| 19 | Serbia |
| 20 | Faroe Islands |
| 21 | Switzerland |
| 22 | Romania |
| 23 | Greece |
| 24 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
* Team qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship
* Team qualified for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship as co-host

### European qualification

From November 2023 to May 2024, the EHF organised a separate qualification for 11 places.

### Bracket

The draw took place on 27 January 2024 in Cologne.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Lithuania | 49–69 | Hungary | 26–33 | 23–36 |
| Slovenia | 60–60 4–1 (p) | Switzerland | 26–27 | 34–33 |
| Portugal | 55–45 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 29–19 | 26–26 |
| Georgia | 56–64 | Austria | 25–27 | 31–37 |
| Iceland | 87–49 | Estonia | 50–25 | 37–24 |
| Greece | 56–58 | Netherlands | 31–27 | 25–31 |
| Spain | 54–53 | Serbia | 32–28 | 22–25 |
| Italy | 66–58 | Montenegro | 32–26 | 34–32 |
| Romania | 51–59 | Czech Republic | 31–30 | 20–29 |
| Poland | 61–54 | Slovakia | 28–29 | 33–25 |
| Faroe Islands | 60–61 | North Macedonia | 34–27 | 26–34 |

## North America and Caribbean

The championship will be held from 6 to 12 May 2024 in Mexico where the winner secures the regional ticket. Had the United States won, second place would've taken the ticket. Cuba were victorious and qualified for the World Championship.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cuba | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 175 | 110 | +65 | 10 | Final |
| 2 | Mexico (H) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 138 | 132 | +6 | 6 | Final |
| 3 | Greenland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 143 | 137 | +6 | 6 | Third place match |
| 4 | United States | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 143 | 150 | −7 | 6 | Third place match |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 111 | 146 | −35 | 2 | Fifth place match |
| 6 | Canada | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 123 | 158 | −35 | 0 | Fifth place match |
* 1 2 3 Mexico 2 Pts, +8 GD; Greenland 2 Pts, –1 GD; United States 2 Pts, –7 GD

### Final

| 12 May 2024 17:00 | Cuba | 36–21 | Mexico | Mexico City Attendance: 279 Referees: Estrada, Pineda (COL) |
| 12 May 2024 17:00 | Rodríguez 8 | (18–10) | Flores 4 | Mexico City Attendance: 279 Referees: Estrada, Pineda (COL) |
| 12 May 2024 17:00 | 6× | Report | 1× 2× | Mexico City Attendance: 279 Referees: Estrada, Pineda (COL) |

## South and Central America

Six teams competed in the South and Central American Championship, held at the La Casa del Handball Argentino in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 16 to 20 January 2024. The top three from the championship qualified. Brazil, Argentina and Chile would finish in top three and advance to the world championship. Brazil were the first country from any region to qualify on 18 January 2024.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| | Brazil | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 103 | +104 | 10 | 2025 World Championship |
| | Argentina (H) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 173 | 101 | +72 | 7 | 2025 World Championship |
| | Chile | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 151 | 107 | +44 | 7 | 2025 World Championship |
| 4 | Paraguay | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 188 | −74 | 4 | |
| 5 | Uruguay | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 113 | 151 | −38 | 2 | |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 87 | 195 | −108 | 0 | |
* 1 2 Argentina 27–27 Chile

## Wildcards

After no Oceanian team achieved a top 5 finish in the Asian Championship, two wildcards were given out by the IHF. United States was given the first wildcard on 18 October 2018, in order to prepare them for the 2028 Summer Olympics which they are hosting. Regarding the second wildcard, 12 nations reportedly applied, with 2 of the applicants unknown.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* China
* Faroe Islands
* Georgia
* Greece
* Montenegro
* Saudi Arabia
* Serbia
* Switzerland
* Turkey
On 23 May 2024, Switzerland was given the second wildcard by the IHF due to multiple reasons: their sporting merit, their commercial reach, their project and the IHF's TV partner asked the Swiss to be picked. Prior to their selection, Switzerland's coach, Andy Schmid, stated that after their narrow penalty shootout loss to Slovenia, The Swiss' performance merited a wildcard.