The 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship will throw off on Tuesday, 17 September, in the Dr Hassan Moustafa Hall, in 6 of October, Egypt, with eight teams – the largest number of teams in the history of the event – at the start.

3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship – first day - schedule

GROUP A

• 13:00 EEST Brazil vs United States of America
• 15:00 EEST Japan vs France

GROUP B

• 16:00 EEST Egypt vs Chile
• 19:00 EEST India vs Portugal

The full card provides, in the Dr Hassan Moustafa Hall, in 6 of October, Egypt will provide some hugely interesting clashes, with four teams – France, Japan, Portugal and the United States of America – making their debuts in the world wheelchair handball flagship competition.

All the matches will be available to watch on the IHF Competitions YouTube channel.

From those four, the USA have the toughest encounter, facing reigning world champions, Brazil, which are yet to drop a match in the competition, after sweeping their opponents and conceding only a set on their way to the gold medal two years ago.

Brazil retained the core of the team, with some experienced players in the squad, like Jordean Rodrigues, Guilherme Lourenço or Claudinei Marques Dias, while the USA have assembled their team over the last few months, playing their first friendly match in Egypt, against the hosts, before the start of the competition.

Two debutants – France and Japan – will feature in the second match of the day, scheduled before the opening ceremony, as they both seek their first win in the history of the competition.

Both sides have a long withstanding tradition in wheelchair handball, but nerves will surely be big before their opener, with the European side facing strong opponents over the past few years in the Euro Hand 4 All friendly competition.

With a clear aim of securing a place in the semi-finals, France will hope to open their account here, but Japan are no pushovers and will likely give their opponents a hefty challenge, in a crucial match to secure a better finish in Group A.

Moving over to Group B, the runners-up of the 2022 IHF Four-a-Side Wheelchair Handball World Championship, hosts Egypt, are due to face Chile, a team which finished four two years ago.

Back then, Egypt dominated Chile and secured a 2:0 win (8:5; 5:2) in the preliminary round, enhancing their chances of finishing on the second place and going to play against Brazil in the final.

Now, Egypt have retained most of their core, their coach, Wael Aly, has returned on the bench, while Chile underwent a makeover, with new players in the squad, who will need some time to gel, with just four players from 2022 named in the 2024 squad.

In the last match of the first day of the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, Portugal, the champions at the World and European Wheelchair Handball Championship in 2022, are due to face India, a team which has experience in the Four-a-Side discipline.

Portugal are one of the best European wheelchair handball teams, as proven in the competition played two years ago, and will be looking to make the double, but challenges can rise from any side of the table, including from India, a team which they won against at the World and European Wheelchair Handball Championship.

For Portugal, the biggest challenge will be to adapt to the Four-a-Side discipline, but with experienced players like captain João Jerónimo, the European side will be certainly one to beat in the competition throwing off in Egypt.