Turkiye will always hold a special place in the hearts of Italian beach handball as it was the country where their men’s team sealed a qualification place for their first-ever world championship appearance.

Last year, in July, the Italians finished eighth – their best-ever continental rank – on the Alanya sand to grab the final spot for Croatia 2026 from Europe. Their campaign started off with two losses, against Norway (0-2) and Hungary (1-2) before as 2-1 win over Ukraine in their final preliminary group game qualified them through to the main round.

In the second stage they lost to Spain (0-2) but beat Sweden and France, both via shoot-out (2-1) to make it into the last eight, and with it, seal their world championship place. However, this was a step too far as they then lost their next three games 2-0, against Germany in the quarter-finals, France in the 5-8 placement round and Denmark in the 7/8 Placement.

The medal was their second as an international team, coming two years after their silver at the 2023 Mediterranean Beach Games in Heraklion, Greece.

At Croatia 2026 Italy face a tough task to qualify through from their preliminary group in Zagreb as they take on current The World Games title-holders Germany, record world championship-winning team Brazil and the tough South American side Argentina.

“As soon as I read the names of our opponents, after the draw was over, I took a deep breath, knowing I'd been drawn into a very high-level group, the classic 'tough group’,” said coach Maione to federhandball.it.

“Thinking about it, however, the desire to get on the sand and compete against the world's top players prevails. Brazil is probably the most representative nation in beach handball, Germany is the reigning European champion, and Argentina has historically been among the best so we know we have to work hard between now and the start of the tournament to be ready, but at the same time, we're really happy to be competing against these teams, these teams, and these players.

“We hope to be the surprise of the group, to be somewhat underestimated by our opponents,” he added. “We must be objective in saying that we're playing in a tournament like this for the first time, but we must also be aware that we've come a long way since the beginning of our journey. We must always take the sand to respect the jersey we wear, that of the national team, and give it our all. We are the latest arrivals and we will have to honour this challenge to the fullest, trying to improve day after day and surprise the best in the world.”

To prepare for Croatia 2026, Maione has taken his squad to a number of EHF ebt (European Beach Handball Tour) stages. 

These have included the Diego Carrasco Cup in Torrox, Spain ( 29 to 31 May), taking 14 players to the Calise Cup in Gaeta, Italy (12 to 14 June) and the 2026 ebt Finals in Trapani, Italy (18 to 21 June).

Coach: Pasquale Maione

Key Players: Christian Mitterrutzner, Ignazio Degiorgio, Alessandro Benini

Qualification information: 2025 EHF European Beach Handball Championship – 8th

History in Tournament: 2004-2024: DNQ

Group at Croatia 2026: Group C: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy