There is a famous saying in sports: "You are only as good as your last result'". For Croatia, at IHF Men's World Championships, that result is their worst ranking in 14 appearances – 15th.
 
Those appearances have seen them as ever-present since 1995, and they collected five medals – one gold (2003), three silvers (1995, 2005, 2009) and one bronze (2013).
 

No team in history have won the IHF Men’s World Championship three consecutive times, with Sweden, Romania, France and Denmark coming the closest, each securing the title two times in a row.

Out of the four teams, it is Denmark who can write history in Poland and Sweden. The Scandinavian team have undoubtedly built a golden generation – a generation that won the previous two editions of the men’s flagship event without dropping a single game at Germany/Denmark 2019 and Egypt 2021.

Handball is certainly on the rise in Cape Verde. The island country of about 500,000 people, lying west of continental Africa, boasts a national team who have qualified for their second straight IHF Men's World Championship and hope to make a good impression at Poland/Sweden 2023.

Brazil have featured in every edition of the IHF Men's World Championship since 1995. However, their results have been mixed, with only one top-10 placement at Germany/Denmark 2019, where the South American side finished ninth after winning five of their eight games.

They definitely took a step back at Egypt 2021, where they only snatched one win, drew two matches and lost three. However, their draw against Spain to start the competition surely offered a glimpse of the South American side's potential.

Since 1997, when they made their debut at the IHF Men's World Championship, Argentina have been a mainstay in the competition, never missing any other edition of the tournament,
qualifying for the 14th time in a row at Poland/Sweden 2023.

They have navigated through thick and thin, from the 22nd place in 1997 to the 12th place in 2011 and back to the 18th place in 2017, before securing their best-ever finish at Egypt 2021, when this golden generation ended up on the 11th place.

After departing in 2018 for the Iceland job, Guðmundur Guðmundsson was replaced by Aron Kristjánsson, who ensured that the Icelandic influence continued at all levels, bringing in fellow Icelander Halldór Jóhann Sigfússon as youth and junior coach to ensure smooth progression between the teams.

In 2022, Sydney Uni will take the court at the IHF Men’s Super Globe for the 10th time, a record for the competition, with Qatari side Al-Sadd (nine times) and Barça (eight times) featuring just behind the Australian side.

SL Benfica were the runners-up in the Men’s EHF Challenge Cup twice, in the 2010/11 and the 2015/16 seasons, failing to produce a piece of European silverware throughout their history. Last season, however, the Portuguese side had one of their best-ever seasons, with a fairy tale performance in the EHF European League Men, where they started from the bottom and reached the stars.

Hosts Mudhar will get their third taste of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, after having already finished seventh in 2012 and 2019. A strong outing will be required, though, as they face Egyptian side Al Ahly and Portuguese powerhouse SL Benfica, the winners of the EHF European League Men, in the group phase.

Handball has been getting more and more attention in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the last years, as highlighted by the appointment of former French star Didier Dinart as the men’s national team coach, who served for four months in the post.

Therefore, it was just normal that club teams started to focus on development, with one of the only ways to progress being to usher in talent from abroad – to set an example and try to grow the level organically.