The Republic of Korea are giving an Asian feeling to Group D as they will try to contest three strong European sides: Hungary, Iceland and Portugal. While Hungary is set to start the 28th IHF Men's World Championship against a not-so-familiar opponent, Iceland and Portugal meet again after only one year.

• 18:00 CET Hungary vs Republic of Korea

Hungary were on a good path at the 2021 Men's World Championship, securing fifth place after a quarter-final defeat in extra time against France. However, being eliminated from the EHF EURO 2022 already in the group stage was a huge disappointment for the then hosts Hungary. For the 2023 Men's World Championship, they turned a new page with the appointment of Chema Rodríguez as head coach.

"It will be difficult to prepare for the match against Korea, and the first match at a World Championship is always difficult. But we are ready to fight for our goals. We are waiting for the tournament to start," said Rodríguez at the press conference ahead of the first match against Korea.

And while Hungary's first goal is to grab one of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games spots, fans' expectations are always higher. Like they are for Korea, which wants to find lost glory. Finishing 31st at the last world handball flagship competition, the Asian team also turned to a foreigner at the helm – Rolando Freitas.

The Portuguese coach had eight months to tune up the team, which is characterised by speed and high intensity. To start against Hungary is not ideal, but Korea will give their best. In the four previous encounters between the two at the World Championship, Hungary won three times and suffered only one defeat, 26:29 in the group phase at Iceland 1995.

• 20:30 CET Iceland vs Portugal

It seems like Iceland and Portugal can't line up at the major competition without each other. The 2023 Men's World Championship is the fourth consecutive championship in which the two sides face off in the group stage.

Judging by the numbers, Iceland were the more successful team, having won the EHF EURO 2020 and EHF EURO 2022 clashes; however, they had no luck at the 2021 Men's World Championship, suffering a 25:23 defeat.

Portugal aim to improve their best result at the World Championship following 10th place at Egypt 2021. Paulo Pereira's team have both young talents and veterans ready to take on the big stage. All eyes will be on the Costa brothers, Francisco and Martim, who both play an important role at Sporting CP.

"The way of playing is very similar. They haven't changed it. Therefore, they have fantastic players who are very good in one-on-one duels and base the game on the power they have. Our job is to find solutions to counter their way of playing", said Paulo Pereira on the website of the Handball Federation of Portugal.

Unfortunately, head coach Pereira will not be able to lead his team against Iceland and Korea due to a suspension following actions after the match against France in March 2021 at the 2020 Olympic Qualification Tournament.

Portugal will not have it easy against Iceland. After their worst ranking, finishing 20th at the 2021 IHF Men's World Championship, Guðmundur Guðmundsson rebuilt his team. Having one of the best young goalkeepers, Viktor Gísli Hallgrímsson, in combination with experienced Björgvin Páll Gústavsson between the posts, bolstered by the Ómar Ingi Magnússon and Bjarki Már Elíasson in the attack, among others, Iceland will be a tough nut to crack.