With less than two months remaining before the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, we start our presentation of the eight preliminary round groups and the 32 participating teams. The 30th edition of the world handball flagship competition will be staged between 13 and 31 January in six German cities: Munich, Stuttgart, Magdeburg, Kiel, Hannover and Cologne. 

Hosts Germany will start in Group A and will start their campaign in Munich’s SAP Garden facing one European side – Serbia – one team from Africa – Tunisia – and South American side Uruguay.

For Germany, the competition represents a return to familiar territory. Germany has hosted the competition seven times: in 1938, 1958, 1961, 1974, 1982, 2007 and 2019. The 2027 edition will be its eighth, and 2029, where they co-host alongside France, its ninth.

But the memory of 2007, when Germany lifted the trophy in front of their own supporters, will inevitably frame expectations in January. A home World Championship offers both an opportunity and an obligation, and Alfred Gislason’s side will be expected to embrace both and deliver the best performances in order to return to the top side of the podium after 20 years and break Denmark’s dominance.

And Germany have plenty of talent at their disposal, being buoyed by recent performance. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Gislason’s side took the silver medal, losing the final against Denmark. In January 2026, at the EHF EURO, Germany also reached the final and lost to the reigning world, European and Olympic champions.

The extended 35-player squad announced by the German Handball Federation on 13 November provided plenty of quality and experience. Andreas Wolff, among the finest, if not the finest goalkeeper of his generation, remains the cornerstone between the posts, while Juri Knorr continues to orchestrate the back line. Renars Uscins, Julian Köster, Nils Lichtlein and goalkeeper David Späth also feature, with the final selection due in December. 

Germany’s credentials at this level are beyond dispute. The 2027 edition will be their 28th World Championship from 30 editions, missing out only in 1990 and 1997. So far, the European powerhouse has recorded 131 wins, 15 draws and 49 defeats in 195 matches. Should they progress as anticipated, their fifth match in January will be the 200th in the competition for a nation that has been crowned world champion three times, in 1938, 1978 and 2007.

The most demanding test in the group is likely to come from Serbia, and the history between the two sides could hardly be more evenly poised. Including Serbia’s matches as Yugoslavia and as Serbia and Montenegro, the two nations have met 13 times across the World Championship, the EHF EURO and the Olympic Games. Each has won five times, and three encounters have ended level.

At the IHF Men’s World Championship, the balance is equally striking: two wins apiece and two draws. Yugoslavia prevailed 22:21 in the 1999 quarter-final, and the sides drew 31:31 in the 2003 main round. Serbia and Montenegro then edged a 25:24 win in the 2005 preliminary round, before the 2009 main-round meeting finished 35:35. Germany have taken the two most recent World Championship encounters: a commanding 31:23 victory on home soil in 2019, and a far tighter 34:33 success in 2023. 

The Serbians, however, claimed the latest meeting of all, a 30:27 win in the preliminary round of the EHF EURO 2026 in Herning. 

Serbia’s route to Germany was far from straightforward. At the EHF EURO 2026, Serbia beat Germany, but lost against Spain and Austria and crashed out, finishing last in the group. After a convincing 75:49 aggregate win over Lithuania in the second phase of European qualification, they faced Hungary in the play-offs in May 2026. A 31:30 victory in the first leg proved decisive, as they held on to progress 61:60 on aggregate despite a 30:31 defeat at home in the return match. 

The margin was as slender as it gets, but it restored Serbia to a competition with which their relationship has been intermittent. Over the last 18 years, they have featured in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2019 and 2023, but were absent in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2025. Taking the Yugoslavia era into account, Serbia have 78 wins, 12 draws and 48 defeats in 138 World Championship matches, and two victories in Munich would bring up their 80th.

Serbia will also rely on coach Raul Gonzalez, who took over in 2025 and has transformed the European side into a tight unit, providing some excellent performances over the last years.

Tunisia, meanwhile, represent one of the most consistent presences in the world handball flagship competition. This time around, they qualified as runners-up at the 2026 CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship in Kigali, where they were beaten 37:24 by Egypt in the final. 

Their preparations have been strengthened by the return of left wing Oussama Boughanmi, whose experience adds a valuable dimension to the squad. The 2027 edition will be Tunisia’s 18th World Championship and their 17th in succession since 1995. Their overall record stands at 43 wins, 10 draws and 62 defeats in 115 matches, with their finest achievement remaining the fourth place secured on home court in 2005.

History, though, offers Tunisia little encouragement against the hosts. In seven World Championship meetings, Germany have won six. Those victories came in the 2001 round of 16 (26:24) and in 2003 (30:21), 2007 (35:28), 2009 (26:24), 2011 (36:26) and 2025 (31:19). Tunisia’s lone success arrived at Spain 2013, a 25:23 win in the preliminary round. Their only official meeting with Serbia also ended in narrow defeat, with FR Yugoslavia winning 28:27 in the 2003 preliminary round.

Uruguay complete the group, having secured their place by finishing fourth at the 2026 South and Central American Championship in Paraguay, alongside Argentina, Brazil and Chile. After missing the 2025 edition, they return for their third World Championship, following appearances at Egypt 2021 and Poland/Sweden 2023. Their objective is clear and historic in equal measure: the South Americans have lost all 12 of their World Championship matches to date (one walkover win against Cape Verde, 10:0, in 2021 excluded), and a maiden victory would represent a landmark moment for the programme. Their only official meeting with a group opponent was a 43:14 defeat to Germany in the 2021 preliminary round. They have never faced Serbia or Tunisia at a major international competition.