Group G: Two Intercontinental encounters in round one

Four teams from three continents are ready to start their 2023 Men's World Championship journey in one of the most interesting groups of the event.

• 18:00 CET Morocco vs United States of America

The United States of America finally have their long-awaited dream come true. After missing out on the 2021 Men's World Championship due to COVID-19, the USA are back after 22 years. Led by a former member of the Bengan Boys, Robert Hedin, the team wants to shine on the big stage. Most players have European experience, like brothers Ian and Patrick Hüter, Álex Chan, Gary Hines and Domagoj Srsen.

"We don't have our heads in the clouds, we are grounded. We know that it is practically impossible to beat Croatia or Egypt, they are another dimension, but we believe that we can play against Morocco. We are not a bad team. We have been together for three years, we know each other very well and have players who are playing in Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Hungary…," said Domagoj Srsen on the Croatian website index.hr.

Morocco head into their eighth World Championship with useful experience from past editions of the competition as well as the CAHB Men's African Championships. The North African team hope to cause some surprises at Poland/Sweden 2023 and to achieve their best ranking following 17th place at the 1999 Men's World Championship.

Atlas Lions have never won at the start of the world's flagship handball competition, and that could change now when they play against the United States of America for the first time.

• 20:30 CET Egypt vs Croatia

This will be one of the toughest opening matches for Croatia since their maiden berth at the 1995 Men's World Championship. Egypt are one of the teams that have progressed the most in the last few years, boosted by the seventh place at Egypt 2021 and the fourth place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The reigning African champions are weakened by missing experienced left-hander Yahia Omar; however, Ali Zein, Yehia El-Deraa and Mohsen Mahmoud will hold the back positions tightly and strongly. Roberto García Parrondo's team are on a quest to deliver yet another outstanding performance, and they will give their all to prevent Croatia from winning. And that is no surprise, as Egypt has never won over Croatia at the World Championship.

This duel could be crucial for an eventual quarter-final spot, and Croatia have lost only once at the start of the World Championship. At Portugal 2003, eventual champions Croatia were defeated by Argentina by 30:29.

Croatia had a challenging time. In the last few months, key players like David Mandić, Ivan Pešić, Ivan Čupić, Tin Lučin and Halil Jaganjac got injured, and head coach Hrvoje Horvat was compelled to introduce new names to the national team. Paolo Kraljević and goalkeeper Dino Slavić are some of them. However, with team captain Domagoj Duvnjak, EHF Champions League winner Luka Cindrić and Igor Karačić in the mix, Croatia enter Poland/Sweden 2023 with high hopes.

"We are ready. We had a good preparation period and I believe we did everything right. Egypt are a great team with a wide roster, one of the best non-European teams. They play a very strong 6-0 defence with good transition and their left backs are the main characters of the team. We respect them, but we are aware of our qualities," said head coach Hrvoje Horvat ahead of the first match on the Croatian Handball Federation website.