2027 World Men's Handball Championship – European qualification
The European qualification for the 2027 World Men's Handball Championship will be contested in two rounds between October 2025 and May 2026.[1] They join the two already qualified teams: Germany and Denmark.
Format
In the first round of qualification, six teams will be drawn in to knock-out ties. The winners advance to the qualification phase 2.[2]
All times listed are CET/CEST.
Qualification phase 1
The draw took place on 26 June 2025.[2][3] The winners of each tie advanced to phase 2.
Seeding
The seeding was announced on 24 June 2025.[2]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
| Turkey Luxembourg Kosovo |
Latvia Cyprus Great Britain |
Overview
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | 62–53 | Luxembourg | 28–20 | 34–33 |
| Cyprus | 46–68 | Turkey | 27–33 | 19–35 |
| Great Britain | 56–67 | Kosovo | 26–32 | 30–35 |
Matches
| 1 November 2025 20:00 |
Latvia | 28–20 | Luxembourg | d'Coque, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Attendance: 773 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD) |
| J. Valkovskis 9 | (13–9) | D. Etute 7 | ||
| 1× 3× | Report | 3× |
| 2 November 2025 18:30 |
Luxembourg | 33–34 | Latvia | d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 813 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD) |
| S. Etute 11 | (16–15) | Kušners 8 | ||
| 1× 4× | Report | 5× |
Latvia won 62–53 on aggregate.
| 29 October 2025 19:00 |
Cyprus | 27–33 | Turkey | Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 680 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN) |
| Argyrou 9 | (14–16) | Pehlivan 7 | ||
| 1× 4× | Report | 1× 6× |
| 2 November 2025 14:00 |
Turkey | 35–19 | Cyprus | Ahmet Aytar Spor Salonu, Elazığ Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Sirbu, Serdiuc (MDA) |
| Biçer 6 | (22–10) | Paraskeva 4 | ||
| 2× | Report | 3× |
Turkey won 68–46 on aggregate.
| 29 October 2025 18:00 |
Great Britain | 26–32 | Kosovo | Derby Arena, Derby Attendance: 1,508 Referees: Čerņavskis, Bogdanovs (LAT) |
| Pereira 5 | (11–15) | Gegaj 9 | ||
| 1× 3× | Report | 1× 3× |
| 2 November 2025 17:15 |
Kosovo | 35–30 | Great Britain | Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Leszczyński, Piechota (POL) |
| Tahirukaj 7 | (17–13) | Pereira 6 | ||
| 4× | Report | 3× 1× |
Kosovo won 67–56 on aggregate.
Qualification phase 2
The three winners from phase 1 and 13 other countries will in March 2026 for qualification for phase 3. It is scheduled to take place in March 2026.[4] The draw took place on 6 November 2025.[5][6] The winners of each tie advances to phase 3.
Seeding
The seeding was announced on 5 November 2025.[5]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
| Greece Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia Romania Ukraine Montenegro Georgia Poland |
Slovakia Lithuania Belgium Finland Israel Kosovo Turkey Latvia |
Overview
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | Kosovo | 34–21 | 22 Mar |
| Georgia | 2 | Israel | 29–32 | 21 Mar |
| Ukraine | 3 | Slovakia | 24–27 | 22 Mar |
| Serbia | 4 | Lithuania | 42–25 | 22 Mar |
| Latvia | 5 | Poland | 24–33 | 22 Mar |
| Turkey | 6 | Romania | 32–37 | 22 Mar |
| Greece | 7 | Belgium | 29–26 | 21 Mar |
| Finland | 8 | Montenegro | 32–36 | 22 Mar |
Matches
| 19 March 2026 20:00 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 34–21 | Kosovo | KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 1,400 Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN) |
| Grgić 8 | (15–13) | Tahirukaj 6 | ||
| 1× 3× | Report | 1× |
| 22 March 2026 17:00 |
Kosovo | v | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Referees: Gasmi, Gasmi (FRA) |
| Report | ||||
| 19 March 2026 15:00 |
Georgia | 29–32 | Israel | Telavi Handball Arena, Telavi Attendance: 1,050 Referees: Fabryczny, Rawicki (POL) |
| Tskhovrebadze 12 | (16–15) | Nizri 8 | ||
| 1× 3× | Report | 1× 5× |
| 21 March 2026 15:00 |
Israel | v | Georgia | Telavi Handball Arena, Telavi, Georgia[note 1] Referees: Fabryczny, Rawicki (POL) |
| Report | ||||
| 18 March 2026 19:30 |
Ukraine | 24–27 | Slovakia | Weststadthalle, Bensheim, Germany[note 2] Attendance: 688 Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
| Turchenko 11 | (11–16) | Briatka 7 | ||
| 3× | Report | 5× |
| 22 March 2026 13:00 |
Slovakia | v | Ukraine | Športová Hala MŠK Považská Bystrica, Považská Bystrica Referees: Pavićević, Ražnatović (MNE) |
| Report | ||||
| 19 March 2026 18:00 |
Serbia | 42–25 | Lithuania | Čair Sports Center, Niš Attendance: 4,800 Referees: Pîrvu, Potîrniche (ROU) |
| Pechmalbec 10 | (21–12) | Dumčius, Urvikis 5 | ||
| 3× | Report | 2× |
| 22 March 2026 14:10 |
Lithuania | v | Serbia | Utena Arena, Utena Referees: Kull, Tint (EST) |
| Report | ||||
| 19 March 2026 18:40 |
Latvia | 24–33 | Poland | Zemgale Olympic Center, Jelgava Attendance: 890 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO) |
| Valkovskis 6 | (12–17) | Czapliński 10 | ||
| 4× | Report | 1× 6× |
| 22 March 2026 15:00 |
Poland | v | Latvia | Arena Ostrów, Ostrów Wielkopolski Referees: Jović, Arnautović (BIH) |
| Report | ||||
| 19 March 2026 14:00 |
Turkey | 32–37 | Romania | Karaçayır Kapalı Spor Salonu, Bolu Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Álvarez, Bustamante (ESP) |
| Pehlivan 8 | (15–19) | Buzle 8 | ||
| 2× | Report | 5× |
| 22 March 2026 18:00 |
Romania | v | Turkey | Romeo Iamandi Sports Hall, Buzău Referees: Hansen, Madsen (DEN) |
| Report | ||||
| 18 March 2026 16:00 |
Greece | 29–26 | Belgium | Tasos Kampouris Kanithou Indoor Hall, Chalcis Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Martins, Martins (POR) |
| Toskas 8 | (16–13) | Kotters 13 | ||
| 3× | Report | 2× |
| 21 March 2026 18:00 |
Belgium | v | Greece | Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Referees: Marín, García (ESP) |
| Report | ||||
| 19 March 2026 17:30 |
Finland | 32–36 | Montenegro | Energia Areena, Vantaa Attendance: 1,380 Referees: Elíasson, Pálsson (ISL) |
| Granlund 7 | (13–16) | Čepić, Vujović 8 | ||
| 1× 4× | Report | 1× 3× |
| 22 March 2026 18:00 |
Montenegro | v | Finland | Bemax Arena, Podgorica Referees: Jørum, Kleven (NOR) |
| Report | ||||
Qualification phase 3
Phase 3 will take place from 13 to 17 May 2026.[4] The draw took place on 31 January 2026.[7][8] Eight winners from Phase 2 and the remaining 12 teams from the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship join.
Seeding
The seeding was announced on 30 January 2026.[9]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
| France Slovenia Norway Hungary Spain Switzerland Faroe Islands North Macedonia Netherlands Austria |
Czech Republic Italy Winner of match 1 Winner of match 2 Winner of match 3 Winner of match 4 Winner of match 5 Winner of match 6 Winner of match 7 Winner of match 8 |
Overview
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner of match 3 | 1 | North Macedonia | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Winner of match 1 | 2 | Faroe Islands | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Czech Republic | 3 | France | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Switzerland | 4 | Italy | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Winner of match 8 | 5 | Slovenia | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Winner of match 4 | 6 | Hungary | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Spain | 7 | Winner of match 2 | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Winner of match 7 | 8 | Netherlands | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Norway | 9 | Winner of match 6 | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
| Austria | 10 | Winner of match 5 | 13–14 May | 16–17 May |
Matches
| 13–14 May 2026 | Winner of match 3 | v | North Macedonia | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | North Macedonia | v | Winner of match 3 | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Winner of match 1 | v | Faroe Islands | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Faroe Islands | v | Winner of match 1 | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Czech Republic | v | France | |
| Report | ||||
| 16–17 May 2026 | France | v | Czech Republic | |
| Report | ||||
| 13–14 May 2026 | Switzerland | v | Italy | |
| Report | ||||
| 16–17 May 2026 | Italy | v | Switzerland | |
| Report | ||||
| 13–14 May 2026 | Winner of match 8 | v | Slovenia | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Slovenia | v | Winner of match 8 | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Winner of match 4 | v | Hungary | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Hungary | v | Winner of match 4 | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Spain | v | Winner of match 2 | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Winner of match 2 | v | Spain | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Winner of match 7 | v | Netherlands | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Netherlands | v | Winner of match 7 | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Norway | v | Winner of match 6 | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Winner of match 6 | v | Norway | |
| 13–14 May 2026 | Austria | v | Winner of match 5 | |
| 16–17 May 2026 | Winner of match 5 | v | Austria | |
Notes
- ^ Due to the Gaza war, the Israeli team plays their home matches at neutral venues.
- ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian team plays their home matches at neutral venues.
References
- ^ "IHF Council awards events up to 2027". ihf.info. 28 February 2020.
- ^ a b c "How to follow Men's EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers promotion round draw". eurohandball.com. 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Next step in Men's EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers set". EHF. 26 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Kosovo, Latvia and Türkiye keep World Championship dreams alive". EHF. 2 November 2025.
- ^ a b "16 teams await Men's World Championship Qualification Phase 2 draw". EHF. 5 November 2025.
- ^ "Qualification Phase 2 draw sets up path to Men's World Championship". EHF. 6 November 2025.
- ^ "Path to 2027 IHF Men's World Championship becomes clearer". EHF. 22 January 2026.
- ^ "Ties for 2027 Men's World Championship qualification phase 3 set". EHF. 31 January 2026.
- ^ "Pots set for last 2027 Men's World Championship qualifiers draw". EHF. 30 January 2026.