aturday will see crucial matches played at the 2026 IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, as the knockout round throws off in the morning, with the semi-finals being scheduled in the evening.

QUARTER-FINALS
11:00 CEST France vs Portugal
11:00 CEST Japan vs Egypt
13:00 CEST Brazil vs Spain
13:00 CEST Chile vs United States of America

PLACEMENT MATCHES 9/12
09:00 CEST Libya vs India
09:00 CEST Australia vs Lithuania

The preliminary round of the 2026 IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship has concluded on Wednesday and eight teams have made it to the quarter-finals, with three European teams, two South American sides and one team from Asia, North America and the Caribbean and one African team making it to the knockout phase.

There are some heavyweight clashes on the schedule, with the focus shifting first for the battle between Japan and Egypt. The reigning champions, Egypt, have conceded a loss in their maiden match against Chile, but bounced back against Lithuania, yet now find themselves in a tough position.

Japan are the team with the largest number of points scored in the competition so far, with 52, 15 more than Egypt, and have conceded the lowest number of points, 11, leading the way in both statistical categories.

In the last edition, the two sides have also met in the quarter-finals, where Egypt took a 2:1 win, with a 5:4 win in the decider, underlining once again just how fine the margins are at this level.

Another rematch of a quarter-final which took place two years ago is the one between France and Portugal. Last time around, France produced a huge shock, when they took Portugal’s scalp, despite having lost all three matches in the preliminary round.

The tables have turned now and France are the unbeaten side, having won against Libya and Spain in straight sets, while Portugal conceded a loss against Brazil.

France have two strong scorers in Fatih Cuhadar (18 points) and Mathieu De Cillia (14 points), who are third and sixth respectively in the top scorer standings, while Portugal need to boost their attack, having scored only 30 points in the first two matches.

On paper, Chile look to be favourites against the United States of America, and a win would see the South American side secure the best finish in history in the competition.

Chile have won against both Egypt and Lithuania, with the same score, 2:1, proving that they can withstand pressure and deliver in crucial moments. On the other hand, USA lost big against Japan, but won against debutants Australia, but have the lowest number of points scored between the top eight sides, 15.

Hosts Spain will look to produce a surprise against Brazil, but the South American side is gunning for their third medal in a row, after the gold in 2022 and the bronze in 2024.

Brazil have the second best attack, with 49 points, and the top scorer, Guilherme Lourenco, who scored 21 points, while Spain have only 28 points scored and conceded 30, for a negative points difference.