Mexico will be the 26th country to send a team to the IHF Men’s Super Globe in the history of the competition – and only the second one from the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC), after USA had been previously represented by New York Team Handball Club and San Francisco CalHeat.

Sweden are ranked second in the all-time most decorated team standings at the IHF Men's World Championship with 12 medals – four gold, silver and bronze medals each – the highest amount in history. And with the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship being co-hosted by Sweden and the final set for the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, the expectations are higher than ever.

Two years ago, Uruguay were reaping what they sowed after their third-place finish at the 2020 South and Central American Men’s Handball Championship. They made their IHF Men’s World Championship debut, a superb achievement for a side with little to no tradition in the sport.

Being on the highest of stages was both a reason for pride and a huge responsibility. Still, the South American side finished in 24th place, sealing a 10:0 win against Cape Verde in the preliminary round due to the withdrawal of the African side.

The 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship was supposed to highlight the return of the US men’s national team on the biggest of stages, yet after a training camp in Denmark, everything changed, with an outbreak of COVID-19 in the squad forcing the USA to withdraw from the competition.

It was a big blow for the players and the staff, who were preparing for their first participation in the competition after a 20-year hiatus. Yet, the issues were too big for assembling a competitive side for the IHF Men’s World Championship.

For Tunisia, the past couple of years can hardly be described as successful. After finishing just 25th at the 2021 IHF Men's World Championship in Egypt, they failed to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Moreover, they missed out on a medal at the 2022 CAHB Men's African Championship for the first time in history.

In June 2022, the IHF Council awarded Slovenia a wild card entry to Poland/Sweden 2023 in recognition of their investment in the future of handball, which includes hosting duties of the then-upcoming 2022 IHF Women's Junior (U20) World Championship and the 2025 IHF Men's Youth (U19) World Championship.

Serbia’s men return to IHF World Championship action after a four-year break and just three appearances in the past decade.
 
And with just one Olympic Games (2012) since independence in 2006, the lack of visibility on the global stage will have hit hard in the handball-mad country.
 
In contrast, continentally speaking, Serbia have been almost ever-present at the European Championships, missing just one, in 2008.
 

After making their debut at the IHF Men's World Championship in 1997, Saudi Arabia participated eight more times, always finishing somewhere between 19th and the 23rd. 

Four years ago, at Denmark/Germany 2019, the Asian team were ranked 21st but failed to qualify for Egypt 2021 after only finishing seventh at the 2020 AHF Men's Asian Championship. However, the next edition of the Asian Championship was held in Saudi Arabia in 2022, and the home side won bronze, which helped them to secure a spot at Poland/Sweden 2023.