Two years ago, at Poland/Sweden 2023, the United States of America delivered their biggest ever performance at the IHF Men’s World Championship. It might have not been their best finishing position in the competition, 23rd, but snapping a 23-match losing streak and winning their maiden two matches was a huge stepping stone for Robert Hedin’s side.

Sure, the American side waited nearly 50 years for this magical moment, after making their debut in 1964, failing to secure wins in their appearances in 1970, 1974, 1993, 1995 and 2001.

Germany 2007, Croatia 2009 and Qatar 2015 were the pinnacle for the Polish handball at the IHF Men’s World Championship, when Poland secured three of the four medals in their history in the world handball flagship competition – a silver in 2007 and two bronze medals in 2009 and 2015.

As a player, Kiril Lazarov was a legendary figure for North Macedonia, ensuring their best-ever finishes in both the World Championship (9th – 2015) and European Championship (5th – 2012). 

Having played for 24 years in the national team, including seven IHF Men’s World Championships (Egypt 2009 – Egypt 2021) and recording over 1,600 goals, no-one was more qualified as a player for the role of head coach for his nation, when he took over the role in February 2021, after what was then North Macedonia’s worst-ever world championship ranking – a 23rd place at Egypt 2021.

A fourth place gained at France 2001 remains Egypt’s best-ever ranking at an IHF Men’s World Championship, but with two seventh-placed rankings in the last two editions (2021, 2023), the African champions could be set to equal or surpass that at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025.

When Argentina coach Rodolfo Jung announced his final preparation squad of 21 players for Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 in early December, there were two glaring omissions – Diego and Pablo Simonet.

The brothers, with over 300 national team appearances between them, are synonymous not only with Argentina handball, but with the rise of the country in the global rankings.

Qatar’s men’s team enter a new era at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 as they welcome their first new coach at a world championship since 2015.

Last August, experienced Montenegrin coach Veselin Vujović was announced as the man to lead the Qatari team through the upcoming global event, taking over from Goran Djokic, who sealed qualification for 2025 after guiding the side to continental glory in Bahrain last January.

Just over two years on from taking the role as Hungary men’s head coach (March 2022), José María Rodríguez Vaquero, better known as Chema Rodríguez, has overseen consistent qualification for his team at major events, the minimum required for one of handball’s most historic nations.

Sweden are one of the two teams which have won 12 medals in the previous 28 editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, securing the title four times. In fact, they have a perfectly balanced resume, with four gold medals, four silver medals and four bronze medals, with the last place on the podium coming at Egypt 2021, when they ended up on the second place.

Since their maiden appearance at the IHF Men’s World Championship, at Sweden 2011, Chile have not missed any of the next seven editions, as Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 will be the eight consecutive appearance for the South American side between the top teams in the world.

Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 will be the 16th consecutive edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship when Tunisia enter the fray, one of the longest active streaks in the competition, with the African side delivering some fantastic performances over the years.

Their best result was the fourth place sealed in 2005, when Tunisia hosted the competition, but over the last editions, the African side has somewhat faltered, after ending up on the 12th place at Germany/Denmark 2019.