The 2025 Men’s World Championship starts in less than two weeks and it’s time to introduce the groups here at Gohandball.
Here is Gohandballs guide for group A-D. We go through each group and the different nation’s stars and expectations.
Group A
Germany
Number of WCs (including 2025): 27
Result last WC: 5 (2023)
Greatest merits: 1 Olympic gold (1936), 3 WC gold (1938, 1978, 2007), 2 EC gold (2004, 2016)
Stars: Juri Knorr (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Andreas Wolff (Kielce), Johannes Golla (SG Flensburg-Handewitt), Renärs Uscins (Hannover-Burgdorf)
Czechia
Number of WCs (including 2025): 7
Result last WC: 17 (2015)
Greatest merits: 6th place EC (1996, 2018)
Stars: Tomas Mrkva (THW Kiel), Stanislav Kasparek (Dinamo Bucharest)
Poland
Number of WCs (including 2025): 18
Result last WC: 15 (2023)
Greatest merits: 1 Olympic bronze (1976), 1 WC silver (2007)
Stars: Szymon Sicko (Kielce), Kamil Sypzrak (PSG)
Switzerland
Number of WCs (including 2025): 12
Result last WC: 16 (2021)
Greatest merits: 1 Olympic bronze (1936) 4th place EC (1954, 1993)
Stars: Nikola Portner (SC Magdeburg), Samuel Zehnder (TBV Lemgo)
Group B
Denmark
Number of WCs (including 2025): 26
Result last WC: 1 (2023)
Greatest merits: 2 Olympic golds (2016, 2024), 3 WC gold (2019, 2021, 2023), 2 EC gold (2008, 2012)
Stars: Mathias Gidsel (Füchse Berlin), Emil Nielsen (FC Barcelona), Simon Pytlick (SG Flensburg-Handewitt), Magnus Saugstrup (SC Magdeburg)
Italy
Number of WCs (including 2025): 1
Result last WC: –
Greatest merits: 11th place EC (1998)
Stars: Domenico Ebner (Leipzig), Andrea Parisini (PAUC), Thomas Bortoli (Istres)
Algeria
Number of WCs (including 2025): 17
Result last WC: 31 (2023)
Greatest merits: 7 gold medals African Championship (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2014)
Stars: Ayoub Abdi (Nantes), Khalifa Ghedbane (Erlangen)
Tunisia
Number of WCs (including 2025): 17
Result last WC: 25 (2023)
Greatest merits: 4th place WC (2005), 10 gold medals African Championship (1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018)
Stars: Ghassen Toumi (Tunis), Anouar Ben Abdallah (Kazma), Mehdi Harbaoui (Bidasoa Irun)
Group C
France
Number of WCs (including 2025): 25
Result last WC: 2 (2023)
Greatest merits: 3 Olympic gold (2008, 2012, 2020), 6 WC gold (1995, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017), 4 EC gold (2006, 2010, 2014, 2024)
Stars: Nedim Remili (Veszprem), Dika Mem (FC Barcelona), Ludovic Fabregas (Veszprem)
Austria
Number of WCs (including 2025): 8
Result last WC: 26 (2021)
Greatest merits: 1 Olympic silver (1936), 1 WC silver (1938)
Stars: Sebastian Frimmel (Pick Szeged), Constantin Möstl (TBV Lemgo)
Qatar
Number of WCs (including 2025): 10
Result last WC: 22 (2023)
Greatest merits: 1 WC silver (2015), 6 gold medals Asian Championship (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
Stars: Frankis Marzo (Al Arabi), Youssef Ben Ali (PAUC)
Kuwait
Number of WCs (including 2025): 9
Result last WC: 22 (2009)
Greatest merits: 4 gold medals Asian Championship (1995, 2002, 2004, 2006)
Stars: Ali Saleh (Al-Najma), Hassan Safar (Kuwait SC)
Group C
Hungary
Number of WCs (including 2025): 23
Result last WC: 8 (2023)
Greatest merits: 1 WC silver (1986)
Stars: Bence Banhidi (Pick Szeged), Richard Bodo (Pick Szeged), Bence Imre (THW Kiel)
Netherlands
Number of WCs (including 2025): 3
Result last WC: 14 (2023)
Greatest merits: 10th place EC (2022)
Stars: Luc Steins (PSG), Dani Baijens (PSG), Kay Smits (SG Flensburg-Handewitt)
North Macedonia
Number of WCs (including 2025): 9
Result last WC: 27 (2023)
Greatest merits: 9th place WC (2015), 5th place EC (2012)
Stars: Filip Kuzmanovski (Eurofarm Pelister), Nikola Mitrevski (Eurofarm Pelister)
Guinea
Number of WCs (including 2025): 1
Result last WC: –
Greatest merits: 5th place African Championship (2024)
Stars: Theo Lebon (US Saints), Pierre Rubens (Tremblay), Omar Baradji (USG)