The 22 participating teams will include the teams ranked 1st to 17th in the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, excluding Croatia, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany and Sweden, who have qualified directly for the 2025 World Championship.
The draw was conducted by EHF General Secretary Martin Hausleitner, EHF Competition Committee Chairman Božidar Djurkovic and IHF President František Taborski. Of the 18 teams drawn to participate in EHF EURO 2024, 14 will face off in the playoffs, with the highlight being EHF EURO 2018 and 2020 champions Spain taking on Serbia.
Other matchups that handball fans can look forward to include Romania vs. Czech Republic, Slovenia vs. Switzerland, and Faroe Islands vs. North Macedonia.
The winner of the showdown to decide the names of the final four teams competing for a spot in the 2025 World Championship will only be known on March 17, 2024, after the first phase of the playoffs.
2025 IHF Men’s World Championship Qualifier Europe Playoffs, Phase 2:
Winner of Finland/Lithuania vs Hungary
Belgium/Italy vs Montenegro winner
greece vs netherlands
Romania vs Czech Republic
Spain vs Serbia
Faroe Islands vs North Macedonia
Slovenia vs Switzerland
Portugal vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iceland vs Estonia/Ukraine winner
Poland vs Slovakia/Israel winner
Georgia vs Austria
The European qualifying play-off matches will be played from May 8th to 12th, 2024. All 11 winners will qualify for the 2025 World Championships, joining Croatia, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany and Sweden to compete in events to be held in Norway, Denmark and Croatia. .