Well, all 32 teams that have started the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship have played now, as the third day saw eight interesting clashes play out in Katowice, Krakow, Malmö and Jönköping.

One of the highlights of the day was surely the United States of America’s win against Morocco (28:27), the first win of the USA in the competition, in their 26th match in the world handball flagship tournament. 

The Netherlands also celebrated their first win in history, with a 29:19 drubbing of Argentina, while Norway cruised to a clear win against North Macedonia. 

On paper, the match between Egypt and Croatia looked well-balanced and was the headline of the day, but the Pharaohs dominated from start to finish to take their first win against the European powerhouse.

Denmark had their 20th unbeaten match in a row with a win over Belgium, while in Group E Serbia and Germany both secured wins to enter the next match on two points.

Moving over to Saturday, the schedule is once again full with eight matches being played in Katowice, Krakow, Gothenburg and Kristianstad.

After clinching a clear win against Brazil, Sweden are trying to make it two out of two against Cape Verde. At the same time, Brazil and Uruguay face in a South American derby where the winner can get closer to securing a berth for the main round, if not clinching it altogether.

Losing against France was a blow for co-hosts Poland, but they will rely once again on a sold-out Spodek Arena in Katowice to win their first match. However, Slovenia will be a tough opponent in Group B after securing a win against Saudi Arabia. France can become the first team to qualify for the main round if they win against the Asian side in the first match of the day. 

Iceland and Hungary both won their first matches in Kristianstad, yet their battle will be interesting to watch as the winner will get to the main round. At the same time, Portugal aim to win against the Republic of Korea, a team led by a Portuguese coach, Rolando Freitas.

In Group A, Veselin Vujović, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s coach, face the team representing his country, Montenegro, with Spain vying for their second win in a row, which would see them through to the main round. 

Poland vs Slovenia will be a crucial match for the future of the two teams in the competition, so we previewed the match by talking to Aleks Vlah, Slovenia’s centre back, who made his debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship with a four-goal outing in Slovenia’s win against Saudi Arabia. Learn more about Vlah, the second best scorer in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, who is having a blast of a season, in our feature. 

We also got to meet Norway’s coach Jonas Wille, who replaced Christian Berge as head coach in 2022 after featuring as his assistant. Learn more about Wille’s ambitions here. 

All the statistics, tailor-made for everyone, are just one click away, so you can follow your favourite player and see who’s the best scorer, the best assists provider and the best goalkeeper. 

The first round of matches is now over and we have two players who share the title of the top scorer, with Bahrain’s Ahmed Fadhul and Denmark’s Mikkel Hansen each scoring 10 goals, the only players to go into double digits. Hansen is also only two goals shy of the 300-goal milestone at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Curious about where you can follow your team on TV? Don’t worry, we also got you covered – just click here! 

The IHF is working hard to bring you the very best from what is sure to be an exciting competition, and wherever you are, there are many ways to follow the action! Make you stay up to date, follow our social media channels and find out which was the pic of the day and the best actions of the day! 

You can also check the best plays from the first day on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, with plenty of mouthwatering goals ready to be seen.