News
After 16 years, a return to Zagreb and world championship action for Cuba men
02 Jan. 2025

Cuba return to IHF Men’s World Championship action for the first time since 2009 after winning the NACHC Men's North America and the Caribbean Championship in Mexico last May.
It was the second time in four editions that Cuba – who won the 2023 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship – had taken the continental honours, and they were dominant, winning all six games by nine goals all more, including the final, where they saw off the hosts 36:21.
While the majority of the provisional squad named by Cuba for Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 play their handball either in Cuba or Spain, clubs from France, Croatia, Portugal and North Macedonia are also represented.
Hanser Michel Rodriguez – who plays his club handball for HC Vardar in North Macedonia – is a key player for Cuba. The left wing was MVP of that 2023 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship and also top-scored in the continental final against Mexico with eight goals.
Other key players include the Spain-based quartet of captain Magnol Suarez Fis (Mallorca), Frank Cordies (Huesca), Dariel Garcia (Bidasoa) and Angel Jesus Rivero Noris (Logrono), and along with the rest of the squad, they will hope to guide the Cubans to a better ranking than their 20th spot gained back at Croatia 2009, when they were based in Zagreb – the same venue as they will be at for the 2025 preliminary round. Their best-ever rank was eighth in 1999.
“Qualifying for the 2025 IHF World Championship is a great achievement as we have not participated in these competitions since 2009 – coincidentally, where we were in Zagreb as well,” said Franklyn S. Guevara Balcazar, President of the Cuban Handball Federation, to IHF.info.
“It was a very good qualification for us. From the point of view of performance, all the planned work was done and we have many aspirations for the future. We have enjoyed it very much and we are now waiting for the moment to come when we enter the court in Croatia.”
His side find themselves in a group also including Cape Verde, Iceland and Slovenia. Cuba’s clash against the African side in their third and final group game on Monday 20 January will likely be a direct play-off for the final main round spot, if results go as expected and the two European sides finish in the top two places.
“We are in a difficult group where we will face Slovenia, who finished fourth in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Iceland, a country with a handball tradition and who have a lot more experience in these competitions than us. Then we have Cape Verde, a country on the rise like us, but who already have [recent] experience in these competitions and will be a difficult rival.
“For us, it is a fairly even group where we will do everything we can to advance. Our objective is to achieve a victory and advance from the preliminary group. In the next phase, we will analyse and draw up game strategies on a day-to-day basis, seeing how the matches are developing.”
Ahead of the start of the world championship Cuba have been preparing in Europe, including a week in Chatellerault, France (November 4-10), where they played friendly matches against Saint-Cyr, Grand Poitiers and Reze.
After the festive break, they will then return to Europe for a final week of preparation before their world championship opener against Slovenia on Thursday 16 January.
“We have planned to participate in a training camp in Croatia from January 4 to 10, which will help us fine tune the strategies to work on in the competition and be able to play friendly matches that will give us the main lines of work to strengthen,” concluded Balcazar.
Coach: Jover Jorge Hernandez Miranda (Technical Director)
Key players: Hanser Rodriguez (left wing), Magnol Suarez (goalkeeper) Ronaldo Almeida (left back)
Qualification: 2024 North and Caribbean Men's Handball Championship: Winners
History in the competition: 1982: 13th, 1986: 15th, 1990: 14th, 1995: 13th, 1997: 14th, 1999: 8th, 2009: 20th
Group at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025: Group G (Cape Verde, Cuba, Iceland, Slovenia)