Main round throws off with a rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic games final

21 Jan. 2025

Main round throws off with a rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic games final

The main round throws off with a bang at the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship, as in Group I, in Herning, co-hosts Denmark, the reigning world champions, will face Germany, in a rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games final.

The three best teams from Group C and Group D have progressed to the main round Group II and are ready to start their quest for the quarter-finals at the IHF Men's World Championship. France are the only team that start the main round with a maximum of four points and have the upper hand. Hungary starts with three, the Netherlands and Austria have two points, North Macedonia has one while Qatar is the only team that has progressed without points.

On Tuesday, the top two teams will clash, wanting to extend their winning runs in matches France against Hungary. The day will throw off in VaraĹľdin, Croatia, with Austria and North Macedonia game, followed by Qatar and the Netherlands.


While the three best teams progress to the main round, the fourth-placed ones will fight for the President's Cup in Poreč Žatika Arena, Croatia. Kuwait, Guinea and Algeria all suffered three straight defeats in their respective groups, while Poland were the unlucky ones following their draw against Czechia.

MAIN ROUND GROUP I

  • 15:30 CET Switzerland vs Tunisia

So far, the young Swiss team have left a positive impression at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025. After an opening draw against Czechia (17:17), they put a lot of pressure on Germany, ultimately losing 29:31 and then snatched a 30:28 win in a crucial battle against Poland, earning a main round spot.

Finishing among top 24 teams is already a big success for Andy Schmid’s team, who are featuring in their just second IHF Men’s World Championship in this century, after finishing 16th at Egypt 2021. Switzerland start the main round with just one point, and it will not be easy for them to fight for a quarter-final ticket, yet they will try their best.

Goalkeeper Nikola Portner and left back Lenny Rubin, who has a tally of 20 goals at the tournament, have been shining until this point and are the standouts of the Swiss team. Now their goal is to get a positive result against Tunisia, who open the next competition stage with zero points. 

The African side, which won the President’s Cup both at Egypt 2021 and at Poland/Sweden 2023, avoided going to the consolation tournament this time around, as after the defeats against Denmark and Italy, they snatched a narrow 26:25 win against Algeria to finish third in Group B. Basically, Tunisia have already reached their main goal, but just like Switzerland, they are determined to create some surprises.

Switzerland and Tunisia met at the IHF Men’s World Championship 30 years ago, at Iceland 1995, when the European sidewon 26:22 in their opening match. More recently, the two teams faced off in friendly encounters, and it was Tunisia who won the latest one in November 2023, 31:22. 

  • 18:00 CET Czechia vs Italia

Czechia, which returned to the IHF Men’s World Championship after a 10-year absence, failed to claim any wins in Group A, yet two draws in low-scoring matches against Switzerland (17:17) and Poland (19:19) helped them to book a main round ticket.

A solid defence, which resulted in just 65 conceded goals in three matches, was one of the key factors which allowed the Czechs to go through. At the same time, they scored only  58 goals in these games, which is the lowest number among all 24 progressing teams, therefore Xavi Sabate’s team should improve their attack in order to be competitive in the main round.

Czechia start the main round with one point, while their next rivals have two, as Italy finished second in Group B behind Denmark, leaving Tunisia and Algeria behind. For the Italians, who are playing at this level after a 28-year wait, the current IHF Men’s World Championship can already be called a success, and the two wins against the African rivals have certainly boosted their confidence. 

Goalkeeper Domenico Ebner and right wing Leo Prantner were the players to watch at in Italy’s previous matches, and if they keep up their good job, the team coached by Riccardo Trillini can definitely add some more points to their tally - and possibly already against Czechia, whom they have never met in major tournaments before. 

"It was an incredible week, the best possible for all of us, but now the story will be different. The first important thing is to forget this moment of celebration: we are happy, satisfied and aware of our strength, but also ready to fight against the opponents who are better than us on paper," Trillini said. 

  • 20:30 CET Denmark vs Germany

The first day of the main round in Herning finishes with the rematch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games final, where Denmark dominated Germany to secure the gold medal in style.

Both European teams claimed three wins in three group matches, but on Tuesday, at least one of them will drop their first points at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025. Denmark and Germany start the main round with the maximum number of points, four, two more than the third-placed Italy, and the winner of this clash will make a big step towards the quarter-final. 

Co-hosts Denmark have done a god job in Group B, beating Algeria, Tunisia and Italy, scoring 118 goals. The reigning champions extended their record unbeaten run at the IHF Men’s World Championship to 31 matches, having not lost a match since 2019, and now they are determined to continue that streak in the match against the Germany, which will be their biggest challenge at the competition so far.

Denmark's coach Nikolaj Jacobsen hopes that the experienced centre back Rasmus Lauge, who sustained an injury in the opening match against Algeria and did not feature in the following two games, will make a comeback on Tuesday – even if his status is still doubtful.

This match will actually be a remake of the 2024 Olympics final, when Denmark won by a whopping 13 goals, 39:26. In 2024, the two teams also met in the semi-final of the EHF EURO 2024, where the Danes earned by a smaller margin, 29:26. And at the IHF Men’s World Championship, their paths last crossed at Qatar 2015, when the teams split the points, 30:30.

"Denmark has the best team at this tournament and in the world. It will be a difficult match for us. We will have to play at our best level in order to have a chance," the German goalkeeper Andreas Wolff said, before the first match where his team will not be favoured in this edition of the competition.  

MAIN ROUND GROUP II

  • 15:30 CET Austria vs North Macedonia

Austria and North Macedonia are set to face off in a crucial match as both teams aim to secure valuable points in the main round, after progressing further with two and one points, respectively.  

Austria will look to build on their solid performances against Qatar, Kuwait and even France, where they relied mostly on their seven-against-six play. They will rely on their key player Sebastian Frimmel and goalkeeper Constantin Möstl to overcome the enthusiasm of Macedonians. Without a proper left-handed right back, after losing both Janko Božović and Boris Živković, Austria needs to prepare well for the possible problems when attacking the classic 6-0 defence of North Macedonia.

“I expect it to be a very close match. North Macedonia has a great team. We've heard that they have a lot of fans here. We will definitely have to watch out for their shooter Filip Kuzmanovski, as well as their line players. They have a very strong and experienced man there. They also have a lot of tactical variety, are well-rehearsed and of course, well coached by the legendary player Kiril Lazarov,” says Sebastian Frimmel about their next opponent.

North Macedonia will be eager to improve after a draw with Hungary earlier in the tournament as they could not surprise the Netherlands, only to book their main round ticket against Guinea. All with the help of the competition's top scorer Filip Kuzmanovski (31).

The team which consists of domestic-based players, boosted by veterans like goalkeeper Nikola Mitrevski and line player Zharko Peshevski, will try to tighten up their defence and use fast breaks to score easy goals and show effort among top teams after playing in the President's Cup in 2023.

Austria and North Macedonia only faced each other once at the World Championship - in 2015 when the North Macedonians won 36:31, while their last encounter was in 2020 at the Men's EHF EURO ith Austria winning 32:28.

  • 18:00 CET Qatar vs Netherlands

Qatar's competition has been challenging so far, starting with a heavy loss to France, but head coach Veselin Vujović stated that for them, the real competition began against Austria, against whom they have chances compared to the dominant France. They did produce a better fight against the Austrians, finding their back court strength and scoring more easily with players like Frankis Marzo, Rafael Capote and Žarko Marković stepping up to lead the charge. They could be their main weapons against the Netherlands too.

However, their defence was not up for the task in certain moments and that could be their main problem against the Netherlands. Both teams like to play at a fast pace, but the Netherlands have scored more goals (109 to 70) with Luc Steins and Kay Smits, often setting everything for their left wing Rutger Ten Velde. However, they were not spared of injuries as they had to replace their right wing Alec Smit due to a hamstring injury, thus Rob Schmeits joined the team.

Rutger Ten Velde is the Netherlands’ top scorer and the competition's second-best scorer with 30 goals, while Steins added 20 assists. For the 'Oranje', who are playing their second straight main round after missing out on the World Championship since 1961, starting with two points can be a solid ground for further progress.

Qatar, on the other hand, which are now ten years away from their first and only World Championship medal, will have a hard task in the main round as they are starting with no points and will have to produce their best performances in other to improve their Poland/Sweden 2023 result when they finished 22nd.

Interestingly enough, these two teams also had the honour to open the main round in 2023 when the Netherlands defeated Qatar 32:20.

  • 21:00 CET Hungary vs France

The heavyweights of this main round group at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, France had no problems of reaching the main round, winning all three matches in Group C. They were convincing against Qatar (37:19), Kuwait (43:19) and Austria (35:27) and used the games to prepare all players for the main round.

With their rotation, and giving a fair amount of time on the court to all players from the 18-squad list that travelled to Croatia, head coach Guillaume Gille saved energy and kept freshness while testing all vital tactical ideas. HBC Nantes’ left back, Thibaud Briet, stood up tall in the first three games, netting 18 times, but still France have a wide selection of stellar players like Dika Mem, Nedim Remili and Elohim Prandi, among others.

“We're going to have to prepare for three new big fights because it will be a question of defending a top place to qualify for the quarter-finals,” says Guillaume Gille.

France travelled on Monday by bus from Porec to VaraĹľdin where they will face Hungary whose path in VaraĹľdin at the World Championship was not as successful as France's. They opened the Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 with a surprising 27:27 draw with North Macedonia, but then redeemed against Guinea (35:18) and won the crucial game against the Netherlands (36:32).

Chema Rodríguez's team rely on their solid defensive display conceding only 24,67 goals per game on average in a challenging group with two other European sides. However, when you compare their attack efficiency to one of their opponents, France scored 38,33 goals per game on average, while Hungary are at 32,67. Still, their main leaders in the attack are  Zoltán Szita (15 goals) and Bence Imre (12 goals).

The last time these two teams met was at the Men's EHF EURO 2024 when France won 35:32 in the main round match. Their last World Championship game was Egypt 2021 quarterfinals where once again France prevailed, winning 35:32 in extra-time.

PRESIDENT’S CUP – GROUP I

  • 15:30 CET Kuwait vs Guinea

Kuwait, making their return to the World Championship after a 16-year absence, will be aiming for a win against Guinea, the only debutant in the competition. Despite their stronger attack, compared to their opponents, Kuwait's defence had been a problem, much like Guinea's.

Having suffered three straight defeats in the group phase, against France, Austria and Qatar, Kuwait cannot finish higher than the 25th place, which is a far cry from their best-ever finish of 22nd place back in 2009, when they also played in Croatia. Young and inexperienced teams, however, were emphasised throughout the tournament how they are using every moment on the court to learn and make progress.

Guinea, on the other hand, are still hungry for their first-ever World Championship win after struggling in Group D against three European sides - Hungary, the Netherlands and North Macedonia.

Their main challenges was finding their rhythm from the nine-metre line, where their shooting efficiency was a meagre 25%. However, their goalkeeper, Rubens Pierre, has been a standout performer with a 31% save rate, even saving 21 shots against powerhouse Hungary.

As they are ready to throw off the President's Cup in PoreÄŤ, Croatia, this game will also mark the first-ever encounter between the two sides.

  • 18:00 CET Poland vs Algeria

Poland, the only European side competing in the President's Cup already have to accept their worst placement ever at the world flagship competition, following their 17th place in 2017. With appearances in the main round in 2021 and 2023, Poland's disappointment is justified. However, their experience could be their upper hand in the next five games.

Line player Kamil Syprzak, who leads his team with 13 goals, will be important in the attack, but still, they are relying a lot to their wing players who have above-average efficiency in this competition. With solid defence, which is helping Marcel Jastrzębski and Adam Morawski between the posts, they are the favourites among this group.

Algeria, the African vice-champions, could not break through in Group B against heavyweights Denmark, the team on the rise, Italy and familiar foes from Africa, Tunisia. After losing 22:47 against the Danes and 23:32 against Italy, they went all-in in the last game against Tunisia but fell short by only one goal (25:26). The real threat to Poland from their ranks could be Erlangen's goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane and Nantes' right back Ayyoub Abdi, who is their top scorer.

There have been 14 matches between these two teams so far. The last time Poland and Algeria met at the World Championship was in 2009 when Poland grabbed a convincing 39:22 win. Algeria holds one win against Poland, 26:23 in a friendly match in 2020.