It's all or nothing in group C as crucial last matches will be played. While France and Austria have already booked their tickets to the main round, their clash will determine who takes the maximum points into the next phase. In the last game of the day, Qatar and Kuwait clash with the winner progressing to the main round in Varaždin, Croatia with Austria and France, while the loser will stay in Poreč to play the Presidents' Cup.

In Group B, in Herning, Denmark will look to add another win to their tally, when they face Italy, while Algeria and Tunisia battle for the last main round spot.

While these two groups will conclude on Saturday, in Groups F and G, in Baerum and Zagreb, the eight teams taking part are only at their second match, with Spain and Sweden aiming for their second win in a row and a main round spot secured.

Opening day losses for both Cuba and Cape Verde means that day two of group G at the Arena Zagreb will be an important one for both teams.

However, the task at hand will be tough for them as they face two tough European nations in Iceland and Slovenia respectively. On paper at least, results are likely to go in favour of the Europeans, effectively setting up a main round play-off between Cape Verde and Cuba on Monday (20 January).

GROUP B
 

• 18:00 CET Algeria vs Tunisia

There will be a lot at stake in this African derby between the teams who still not sexcured their ticket to the main round.. The winner of the match will go through, and, in case of a draw, Tunisia will have the upper hand, as they have a better goal difference, -18 compared to Algeria’s -34.

Compared to the opening match with Denmark, when they lost by 25 goals, 22:47, Algeria improved in the second game against Italy, but still came up short, losing 23:32. “It’s a bitter defeat, especially when we know that we prepared well for the match. But we must learn from it, and we still have a chance to progress. The match against Tunisia is a Maghreb derby which will be decided by small details. We will prepare properly and spare no chance to win,” coach Farouk Dehili said.

Tunisia, which won the President’s Cup in two previous IHF Men’s World Championship editions in 2021 and 2023, aim to progress to the main round. However, they are yet to claim their maiden points at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 after losing 25:32 against Italy and 21:32 against Denmark.

Tunisia and Algeria have played over two dozens of games against each other, including three matches at the IHF Men’s World Championship. Notably, it was Tunisia who won each time at this level, most recently in the President’s Cup at Poland/Sweden 2023 (30:25). But they should take nothing for granted on Saturday, as Algeria are also determined to win and go through. 

• 20:30 CET Denmark vs Italy

By defeating Tunisia on Thursday, Denmark extended their record unbeaten streak at the IHF Men’s World Championship to 30 matches. Goalkeeper Emil Nielsen stood like a wall in the first half, when he saved 65% of the shots he faced, and Mathias Gidsel netted nine times for the reigning champions, increasing his tally at the tournament to 19 goals, being the second best scorer after two rounds.

“It was nice to try out some things and distribute some playing time so that we could take care of those who will pull a big load later on,” said the Danish coach Nikolaj Jacobsen, who actively rotated his squad, especially in the second half when his team somewhat lost their momentum but still fully controlled the game. 

The reigning champions, who have already secured their progression to the next phase, hope to claim their third straight win on Saturday - this time against Italy, who also boast a perfect record at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025. 

For the Italians, who are playing their only second IHF Men’s World Championship in history and are back after a 28-year absence, booking an early main round spot was quite an achievement, and 32:23 against Algeria on Thursday became their biggest-ever win at this level.

Italy have never faced Denmark in a big tournament, and they obviously will be the underdogs in their last group encounter, but it will also be a good test for the much-improved team. “The most important thing is that the Italians can be proud of their handball and national team. We are demonstrating that Italy is not in Serie B. We know that we still have to grow a lot, but these results must spur everyone to think big,” their head coach Riccardo Trillini said.

GROUP C

• 18:00 CET France vs Austria

France and Austria are entering this clash with their main round spots secured after two convincing wins against the Asian teams in the group, but there is still plenty to play for. The match will decide who tops the group and carries four points into the main round — a crucial advantage in the quest for the quarter-finals.

Six-time world champions France last lifted the trophy in 2017 and are determined to reclaim their throne. A dominant win over Qatar and high-scoring performance against Kuwait have shown just how strong Guillaume Gille's team can be and also allowed them to use the best of rotation to keep the energy for the next matches.

“When you are France, you want to win every game. We know that Austria improved year by year, we already saw that at the European Championship. It's going to be tough, but it's nothing else but win for us,” says French goalkeeper Rémi Desbonnet.

Their opponents, Austria are making real progress in the last two years and entered the World Championship with the clear goal of being among top three teams in group, for the start. After missing out on the Poland/Sweden 2023 and competing in the Presidents' Cup in 2019 and 2021, they are now focused on going even step further.

They have shown ambition and resilience despite missing Nikola Bylik and Janko Božović, beating Kuwait and edging out Qatar in a hard-fought clash to secure a better start to the main round. Win against France would be a dream, but their head coach Aleš Pajovič is realistic - France are the favourites.

“Everyone knows France is dominant and they want that first place. They have two teams that can come in, equally good, and we have to play great. We will fight, just like against Qatar. We are not expecting to win, but you always need to show fighting spirit and that is important,” says Pajovič.

The two teams last met at the Men's EHF EURO 2024, where France claimed a 33:28 win in the main round. Their only previous World Championship clash was in 2021, with France also winning 35:28.

• 20:30 CET Qatar vs Kuwait

The second match of the day is a do-or-die battle between two familiar foes, which are yet to find success in Group C. Both Qatar and Kuwait have suffered two defeats and only one of them will earn the last spot remaining for main round.

For Qatar, this is a chance to bounce back from their close defeat against Austria and prove they are the better Asian team between these two. Led by experienced Frankis Marzo, who finally found his rhythm and has been instrumental for their play, scoring 15 goals in the first two matches, Qatar are determined to prove why they are the reigning Asian champions.

Kuwait's young team are happy they have a chance to be among the best after a 16-year hiatus, and the World Championship has been a learning experience so far. They have shown glimpses of potential in previous defeats against France and Austria, but struggled to keep the pace throughout the whole 60 minutes. They will have to up their game and be more aggressive in defence while keeping their turnovers at a minimum if they want to beat Qatar.

“It's tough to play this group. We have the last game against Qatar and we know how it is to play against Gulf teams. We already played against them and lost, so maybe we will win this time. It will be very hard,” says Kuwait's left wing Haider Dashti.

The two sides are no strangers to each other, and have the same number of goals scored so far at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, 45.  However, Qatar are better defensively, conceding 32,5 goals compared to Kuwait's 40. Qatar and Kuwait clashed twice at the Asian Championship in January 2024. Qatar emerged victorious on both occasions, winning 24:20 in the group phase and 33:26 in the semi-finals.    

GROUP F

• 18:00 CET Spain vs Japan

Spain can ensure safe passage to the main round with a win against Japan, in a match featuring two Spanish coaches – Jordi Ribera and Toni Gerona – which promises to be an exciting battle on the court.

Japan are reeling after conceding their largest loss since 1990 at the IHF Men’s World Championship, 21:39, against Sweden, in their maiden match, with Gerona hardly impressed by the sheer number of mistakes made by his side during the match.

“The gap became too large in the second half. We can improve our teamwork and need to prepare well for the upcoming matches,” said Japan’s captain, Hiroyasu Tamakawa, after the loss against Sweden.

The Asian side will hardly have any time or chance to fix anything in due time, as two of the youngest teams in the competition will face off in the Unity Arena in Baerum, with Spain holding the head-to-head advantage and a 100% winning record against the Asian side in their mutual history.

Against Japan, Spain have won four matches out of the four played, with a 26:22 win at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship and a 37:33 win in the preliminary round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in August 2024.

“Los Hispanos” went down early against Chile, but emerged victorious, 31:22, with several of their players making their debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship, as the European side has an average age of 25.6 years old in their roster.

• 20:30 CET Chile vs Sweden

With a new coach at the helm in Michael Apelgren, and several new additions to the squad, Sweden enjoyed a perfect start to their campaign at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, deploying an efficient fast-paced attack against Japan, to secure a 39:21 win in their maiden match in the competition.

Now, the Scandinavian side can secure their main round ticket and prepare for the showdown against Spain, which will probably decide the group’s winner, as they face South American side Chile, which are still looking for their maiden points in the competition.

Chile lost both matches played against Sweden so far, by an average margin of 12.5 goals, but they have a player who knows the Scandinavian side well, Joshua Mesias Wasterlun, who plays in Sweden, at Karlskrona.

The South American side has never made it to the main round of the world handball flagship competition and their sights will be set on the match against Japan, while two of their players – backs Rodrigo Salinas and Erwin Feuchtmann, scored 242 goals so far at the IHF Men’s World Championship and are looking likely to top the 250-goal mark at this edition.

GROUP G

• 18:00 CET Cape Verde vs Slovenia

A 13-goal loss to the 10th-placed 2024 European Championship side Iceland was not a bad result for Cape Verde, and, after an early time out (7:2 down, ninth minute), it could be argued that it was even a little bit of a disappointing result for the African side after having such a slow start.

So, it will be interesting to see if Cape Verde coach Jorge Rito, who was frustrated with a first-half of double-figure technical faults, can get his side 100% right from the first whistle against an arguably tougher opponent than Iceland in Uros Zorman’s Slovenia, who emphatically won their opener, against Cuba (41:19).

“We don’t have lot of contact with great teams,” said Rito about the Iceland loss while looking ahead to the Slovenia clash. “We need more of these games to learn, to improve our game and this is our future, because we have good players with great potential. They love the game, and we must work better and look the future with optimism.”

Zorman was happy with the business-like nature of Slovenia’s opening victory, but wants more from his team. 

“Always, you can do some better things,” he told ihf.info after the victory. “I can say that we done almost all things, but we said in the locker room that some things we should do better, like in defence – especially fighting with them in defence. But in the first game there is always some nervous pressure. We were 100% in the head and the players made it from the beginning until the end a good game and nobody got injured.”

The match represents the first time the two sides have met in competition.

• 20:30 CET Iceland vs Cuba

Cuba suffered the heaviest defeat in their group on the opening day in their first match in an IHF Men’s World Championship for 16 years, when they were also in Zagreb, at Croatia 2009.

The North American and Caribbean (NACHC) continental champions lost by 22 goals against Slovenia (41:19) and never really got going against their European opponents, but just stepping on court represented success for the side, who now have another tough European test at the Arena Zagreb.

“Our country is making a big effort to for us to be here,” explained Cuba centre back Christopher Selles to ihf.info after their opening game. “It's very important [to be here] because our country has some struggles to take teams to these tournaments and we are grateful.

“Against Slovenia we missed a lot of shots and in defence, we didn't play as well. But now we are with our head into the Iceland game and we will try to do better. This is the first IHF Men’s World Championship for everyone in our locker room, so we are enjoying the moment and playing as best we can”.

2008 Olympic Games silver medallist Snorri Steinn Gudjonsson secured his first IHF Men’s World Championship win as Iceland coach and was clearly enjoying himself in a dominant first half performance, but with his side easing to a victory, minds slipped and opponents Cape Verde fought back, causing the coach to call a time out in the last quarter to make his feelings known.

“I was just unhappy because of the performance of the team,” he said to ihf.info about what was communicated at that pause. “We were losing in all aspects of the game: missing shots, technical falls, not running back. I was just really unhappy with my team at that point, it got a little bit better, but the whole second half was not good enough.”

Gudjonsson, missing the injured – and watching from the stands – Aron Palmarsson for the preliminary round due to a calf injury, is hoping his side can show more ruthlessness in this game as they look to join the world’s top teams.

“If you want to come with teams like Denmark and France, we have to be good in every game,” he said. “You can't allow us anything and that's what I want to see in the next game.” 

The last, and only, time these two teams met was when Iceland took a 27:23 preliminary round victory at the 1990 IHF Men’s World Championship in the now Czechia, but then Czechoslovakian, town of Zlin.