Last main round spots and group leaderships on the line as preliminary round concludes
20 Jan. 2025

The final round of preliminary group action at the Arena Zagreb sees Cuba and Cape Verde meet for the very first time. The winner of their clash will move through to the last 24, while the loser goes into the President’s Cup.
In the later game, Iceland and Slovenia renew acquaintances in their all-European clash with the winners topping the group and taking those vital, extra points onto the next stage.
In the Unity Arena in Baerum, Oslo, Spain and Sweden face off in a derby for the first place in the group, while Chile and Japan meet with a main round ticket on the line.
GROUP F
- 18:00 CET Japan vs Chile
In their previous seven appearances at the IHF Men’s World Championship, Chile have failed to make the main round once, having always finished outside of the qualifying berths. Right now, they are closer than ever, as if they do not lose Japan in the opening match of the last round of Group F in the Unity Arena in Baerum, they will progress to the next phase.
Overall, the South American side have been more competitive than Japan, having a -21 goal difference after their matches against Spain and Sweden, while the Asian team has conceded more goals and scored less than Chile, having a -37 goal difference.
Therefore, a positive result for Chile would see them rank between the top 24 teams in the world and they proved they can match an opponent at least for 30 minutes, having led against both Sweden and Spain in their matches, for big stretches, something that Japan simply could not match.
Chile have already secured a 35:29 win in the Placement Match 21/22 against Japan at France 2017, but this time they will feel the pressure, as the encounter has a big stake. For Chile, Erwin Feuchtmann (249 goals) and Rodrigo Salinas (247 goals) are both close to the 250-goal mark at the IHF Men’s World Championship.
On the other side, only Cuba (38.5 goals per match) have conceded at a faster pace than Japan (37.5 goals), as Toni Gerona’s side has simply been outmatched on both sides of the ball in their first two matches.
- 20:30 CET Sweden vs Spain
Both sides have won their first two matches, therefore making it to the main round, but the mutual match will be crucial, as the winner will take four points into the next phase, while the team which concedes the loss are due to start on two points, with a handicap of two points behind Portugal.
"Now we begin the climb; we have had two quiet matches, which does not mean that the team has not pushed itself because the group is new and must grow throughout the tournament," said Spain’s coach, Jordi Ribera.
Sweden will face a familiar foe in Spain in the preliminary round, with the two sides usually facing off in the later stages of major international competitions. While Sweden might have won 15 of the 23 matches played at the World Championship, the EHF EURO and the Olympic Games, at the IHF Men’s World Championship, “Los Hispanos” have a positive balance against the Scandinavian side.
The first meeting took place in 1958, when Sweden dominated Spain, 31:11, but in the last two meetings in the world handball flagship competition, Spain took the wins, 24:23 in 2011 and 39:36 in the bronze medal matches of the IHF Men’s World Championship, with both competitions hosted by Sweden.
The two sides also met in three EHF EURO finals, in 1998, 2018 and 2022, when Sweden took two wins and Spain sealed one continental title in 2018. The latest mutual meeting came at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when Sweden secured a 29:26 win over Spain in the preliminary round.
It will be a stern test for Spain, which will face the highest-scoring attack at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Sweden, which have averaged 40.5 goals per match in Michael Apelgren’s first two matches in a major international competition.
However, Spain will try to get even closer to a quarter-finals berth, but their young players will be put to a test. Having already lost right wings Aleix Gomez and Kauldi Odriozola before the start of the competition, “Los Hispanos” are sweating over the fitness of left wing Dani Fernandez, who injured his ankle during the win against Chile.
GROUP G
- 18:00 CET Cuba vs Cape Verde
“I love this game, and this is the place that I want to be playing; against the best coaches and best players, because only like this you can improve,” said Cape Verde’s Paulo Moreno after an impressive first half performance from his side against Slovenia in their 36:24 loss on Saturday (18 January).
The defeat, like their next opponents Cuba, was their second in two games, ensuring that these two sides have to beat each other to progress in Croatia.
Moreno and his side have been the better of the two teams on court so far, but in this one-off clash anything can happen. “We need to forget about the results [so far],” added Cape Verde’s Leandro Semedo to ihf.info. “We will rest and prepare: our main game now is Cuba.”
- 20:30 CET Slovenia vs Iceland
Having done what was expected – beating both Cuba and Cape Verde to qualify for the main round – Slovenia and Iceland face off against each other knowing a win and two more points for the main round are at stake.
Uros Zorman’s Slovenia side equalled their biggest IHF Men’s World Championship victory (+22 goals) against Cuba (41:19) in their opener, and went on to beat Cape Verde 36:24, while Iceland recorded a 40:19 victory over Cuba and 34:21 defeat of Cape Verde.
Those results mean that both sides have the same goal difference (+34) with Slovenia able to top the group with a draw having scored more goals overall.
“We want to put on a top performance against Iceland, in which our team spirit will also come to the fore,” said Slovenia’s Domen Novak to www.rokometna-zveza.si ahead of the match. “We believe in our success.”
Iceland saw their legendary leader Aron Palmarsson return to court action earlier than planned in their last outing, against Cuba. The 34-year-old was set to feature in the main round onwards, but his calf injury healed early and he was eager to return.
"I'm incredibly happy and satisfied to start and get into this now,” he told Visir.is. “The calf is good. It was decided in advance that I would start the game and play 10-15 minutes, get the feel, but I'm 100 percent. It was all according to plan.
“Now [Slovenia] is a final game for the top spot in the group and we definitely want to win. There's a lot we can improve, small things, but I think the feeling in the team is good and I'm really excited for a crazy game.
“My biggest motivation during injury was to focus on recovery so I can play for the national team,” he added, to ihf.info. “If you are from Iceland, playing in the national team motivates you the most.”
In their three IHF Men’s World Championship meetings, Slovenia won 34:33 at Tunisia 2005, 26:25 at France 2017 and lost 31:32 at Germany 2007.
The 2020 European Championship was the last time the two teams met competitively when Slovenia won 30:27 in Malmo, Sweden.
Quotes for ihf.info: Issa Kralj, Magdalena Tuđa