In 2018, the USA women’s team received a Wild Card for 2025 on the condition of achieving an acceptable level of performance. The team has not succeeded in this, and the World Championship is now only available to the host nation for the 2028 Olympics.
The USA men’s team received a Wild Card in 2018 for the 2025 and 2027 World Championships as part of their preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The team won three matches and finished in 26th place at the 2025 World Championship.
The women’s team also received a Wild Card for the tournament, but only if they could demonstrate that they have “reached a certain performance level”, according to the IHF.
The specific level the women’s team must show is still unclear, but the IHF has confirmed to Handbolls News that the USA has not yet secured a spot for the 2025 World Championship in Germany and the Netherlands.
The team has not won an official match since 2019. When the USA qualified for the 2023 World Championship, the team lost all of their matches and finished last in their group, which included Greenland, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba.
Two Wild Cards will be distributed for the tournament. One went to China, and the other has not yet been announced.
Whether this will affect the USA’s participation in the 2028 Olympics has not yet been commented on by the IHF. The USA participated with both teams in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics.