Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland are among the 17 European nations that prepare to compete for the 28th IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, that will be held in Sweden and Poland on 11 to 29 January 2023.
Qualification
Sweden is co-host with Poland, Denmark are reigning champions, Norway earned the right to compete through their performance at EHF EURO 2022, and Iceland came through qualification.
Playing system and host cities
The tournament will take place in nine cities, five in Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Jönköping and Kristianstad) and four in Poland (Kraków, Gdańsk, Katowice, Płock). The 32-team tournament has been split into eight groups of four teams, from which the top three progress to the main round. The four main round groups will feature six teams, competing for two quarter-final places each. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be split between Sweden and Poland, with the final day of action taking place at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm.
The favourites
Reigning EHF EURO champions Sweden have their sights set on a rare double gold in front of their own fans and they certainly have the squad to do so. The majority of their heroes from 2022 are still in the squad, bolstered by Mikael Appelgren in goal, hoping to put his dire run of injuries behind him at last. Besides them, perennial contenders Denmark, Norway, France and Spain all appear to have the tools necessary to compete for a medal. Iceland stand out among the many “dark horses” tipped by fans and experts. With Magdeburg duo Gisli Kristjansson and Omar Ingi Magnussen show sublime form at club level and Nantes’ Viktor Hallgrimsson returning from injury in the nick of time, they have the stars and squad capable of matching anyone on their day.
Read more on Eurohandball.com, Ihf.info, Handball23.com
