Despite the retirement of key player Ebiye Udo-Udoma and Drew Donlin unable for selection, the USA men’s team have plenty to be excited about going into Zagreb 2026.

This edition of the beach handball world championship is their fifth, consecutive appearance on the global stage, a constant presence at the top table ever since they qualified for the first time, for Hungary 2016.

They also come into the event as undisputed, continental NACHC champions, having won the last four editions (2019, 2022, 2024, 2026), the most recent one also confirming their qualification for Croatia 2026.

On the sand in St. Kitts and Nevis the USA won all their games without losing a set.

They started off by taking down Dominica (20:9, 34:7), Mexico (19:16, 27:24) and Canada (30:13, 26:14) in the preliminary group stage before Trinidad and Tobago (20:10, 34:21) in the semi-final. 

The gold medal match was USA vs Puerto Rico, just like in 2024, with the US men taking a 2-0 (18:16, 17:16) victory. Drew Bradley scored a single point with three seconds left in the second set in a game which saw his US teammate Akuro Zuwed top score on 16 points.

At Croatia 2026 the USA face Spain, Portugal and Islamic Republic of Iran in their preliminary group, meeting with the Asian Beach Games champions, Iran, for the first time and having lost to both Portugal and Spain in previous world championship editions.

“Representing the United States at the world championships is an incredible honour and testament to the dedication, resilience and passion of all our athletes,” explains USA head coach Michael Hinson to ihf.info.

“Our goal is to compete with pride and enthusiasm to help inspire the next generation of players and help create visibility for our amazing sport in the United States. We are proud to get the opportunity to compete against the best teams and best players in the world and display the hard work and dedication of our group on the international stage.”

Helping Hinson show off the US brand of beach handball will be key players Cody Dominik, Mathew Koman and captain Jason Borchik as well as a number of world championship debutants, including the quartet of Grant Marocchi, Jake Johnson, Collin Liberty and Zuwed Akuro.

The USA have shown they have the quality to upset the big boys in one-off games but can they show that quality consistently in Croatia across a tournament and get that elusive top 10 global finish?

Coach: Michael Hinson
Key Players: Cody Dominik, Mathew Koman, Jason Borchik 
Qualification information: 2024 North America and Caribbean Men’s Beach Handball Championships – 1st
History in Tournament: 2004-2014: DNQ, 2016: 11th, 2018: 12th, 2022: 12th, 2024: 13th

Group at Croatia 2026: Group A: Spain, Portugal, Islamic Republic of Iran, United States of America