The second day of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship sees eight matches taking place in four venues in three countries, with the competition also throwing off in Baerum, Norway and in Varazdin and Zagreb, Croatia.

Two of the co-hosts, Croatia and Norway, will feature on Wednesday, as in Group D, Hungary face North Macedonia, while Guinea make their debut in the world handball flagship competition.

Co-host nation Croatia start their campaign on Wednesday night (15 January) with a clash against Bahrain at the 15,200-capacity Arena Zagreb, but it is 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship hosts Egypt who open up the 2025 edition in Croatia’s capital city when they take on Argentina in the earlier game.

GROUP D

• 18:00 CET Netherlands vs Guinea

Netherlands are heading into their third ever IHF Men's World Championship – and the second straight one, after they finished 14th at Poland/Sweden 2023. The Dutch side has made a considerable progress in recent years, also featuring at three consecutive EHF EURO editions, so they start Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 with the hopes of further improving and possibly securing a place among the top 10.

Obviously, their first goal is to reach the main round. Before traveling to Varazdin, where Group D will take place, Netherlands won the Yellow Cup, the traditional friendly tournament in Switzerland, leaving the teams of Switzerland, Italy and Kosovo behind. The Dutch team defeated both Italy (31:26) and Kosovo (36:24), and even despite losing against the home side (33:34), they finished first on goal difference.

At the World Championship, Netherlands will miss their captain Bobby Schagen, who has not fully recovered after fracturing his foot, and Thomas Houtepen, who got an injury soon after coming back from a ACL tear. However, on Wednesday, the Netherlands will be strong favourites against Guinea, for whom reaching their first-ever IHF Men's World Championship is already a big achievement. 

The African side secured their berth at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 after finishing fifth at the CAHB African Men's Handball Championship in January 2024, so the match against the Dutch side will be historic for them. And for their French coach Kevin Decaux, who has recently returned to this position after a 18-month absence, it will also be a debut at this level. 

• 20:30 CET Hungary vs North Macedonia

Three Europeans sides have been drawn into Group D, and two of them will face off on Wednesday. It will be the first-ever match between Hungary and North Macedonia at the IHF Men's World Championship, but overall, the sides have met five times, with the Hungarians winning all of them.

Now the team coached by Chema Rodriguez are seen as favourites again – not only in their opening match, but in the entire Group D. In the two past editions of the IHF Men's World Championship, they finished fifth and eighth respectively, and now the Hungarians are determined to go far once again.

Interestingly, Rodriguez played alongside North Macedonia's coach Kiril Lazarov at both Club Balonmano Ciudad Real (in 2010-11) and BM Atletico de Madrid (2011-12). "We are good friends, it's not good to play against each other, but that's sport, it happens often. It will be extremely important for both teams to win two points, as only a win means a good chance of reaching the semi-finals and beyond," Hungary's coach told nemzetisport.hu.

North Macedonia qualified for their seventh straight IHF Men's World Championship, but the road to the tournament was not smooth, as in the Qualification Europe Phase 2 – Part 2 Lazarov's team defeated Faroe Islands by the slightest of margins, 61:60 on aggregate. Two years ago at Poland/Sweden 2023, they ended up in the President's Cup and finished only 27th, but now the North Macedonians hope to improve their standings – and they hope to get a positive result against Hungary. 

GROUP E

• 18:00 CET Portugal vs United States of America

In their first six appearances at the IHF Men’s World Championship, the United States of America did not secure a single win, conceding 23 losses in 23 matches. But at Poland/Sweden 2023, when they returned after a 22-year hiatus, Robert Hedin’s side did win against Belgium and Morocco, writing a piece of history for the American handball.

The USA return to the fore at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 after receiving a wild card and will look to do more damage. However, their challenge will be tougher than ever, as they face two European strongholds, as well as South American champions Brazil.

The first match for USA will see Hedin’s side face Portugal, a team brimming with potential, with the Costa brothers shining bright. However, the European side might face a tough match, especially as they did not meet USA so far, with the element of surprise always providing great entertainment at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

“I think it will be a key game, in the sense that we absolutely have to win it. We know that we have better quality than the United States of America and, for that reason, we have to go out on the pitch focused on winning the game. Not only because, theoretically, we are stronger, but as it is the first game of the World Cup, it is always important and I think the team is prepared to achieve its first victory,” said Portugal’s left back, Alexandre Cavalcanti.

• 20:30 CET Norway vs Brazil

“Getting to play with the national team on Norwegian soil is always great, but getting to do it in important matches in a World Championship that will be held at home in Norway, I'm really looking forward to it. I get goosebumps just talking about it. It's going to be big, it's going to be fun, it's going to be fantastic!”

Sander Sagosen summed up pretty well Norway’s feelings before the first-ever match played by the Scandinavian side on home soil at the IHF Men’s World Championship, with huge ambitions for the runners-up at the 2017 and 2019 editions of the world handball flagship competition.

Norway made the quarter-finals in each of the last two editions, but did not go close to challenging for a medal, therefore they will likely put everything they have to try and secure a place between the top teams in the competition and everything starts with a match against Brazil in the Unity Arena in Baerum.

“We will bleed for Norway, and so will everyone in the stands, in a way. This is our arena. This is home! The others should not come here and think they are something. That is the mentality we want to go into the games with as a team. Now we are here. We decide. The whole hall must be part of that,” added goalkeeper Torbjorn Bergerud for the official website of the Norwegian Handball Federation.

The Scandinavian side also have won all the five matches played against Brazil in major international competitions, with the last one coming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in August 2021, when they took a 27:24 win. The previous four wins came at the IHF Men’s World Championship, 34:12 in 2005, 39:21 in 2009, 26:25 in 2011 and 39:26 in 2017, with three out of the four wins being in double digits.

Brazil will be looking to cause a scare for Norway, but will sweat over the fitness of star left back Bryan Monte da Silva, who suffered an ankle injury in the first friendly match played against Germany last week. The South American champions lost both times, 25:32 and 26:28, but found their rhythm and will be looking to shock their opponents, just like they did in their opener four years ago, at Egypt 2021, when they clinched a draw against Spain.

GROUP H

• 18:00 CET Egypt vs Argentina

Twice before have these two met in an IHF Men’s World Championship and twice before it was a win for the North African side in the preliminary round – 31:26 (2017) and 22:20 (2019).

In 2025, Egypt go in as strong favourites, not least because of the missing pair of brothers from the South American side – Diego and Pablo Simonet – but because less than half a year ago, Egypt took a comprehensive (34:27) win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games against their opponents.

Argentina coach Rodolfo Jung has admitted that the loss of the superstar siblings – both due to personal reasons – with well over 300 national team appearances between them, means that he is looking to the future and therefore using CRO/DEN/NOR 2025 to transition and build with that in mind.

Egypt, with their wealth of talent, are likely to be too much for the South Americans in this Group H opener, an opening game in which coach Juan Carlos Pastor and his players will hope leads to their first-ever IHF Men’s World Championship podium, after fourth place back in 2001 and two seventh-placed rankings in the last two editions (2021, 2023).

Pastor, took over from fellow Spanish coach Roberto Parrondo shortly after the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship and has guided the side to a podium spot already, winning the CAHB Men’s African Championship on home soil in Cairo exactly one year ago.

More impressively, perhaps, was the quarter-final reached at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Egyptians only losing to Spain after additional time.

Pastor can choose from a squad who have played together for many years, including those with a taste of IHF Men’s Youth World Championship gold (North Macedonia 2019). Despite missing key players Yehia El-Deraa, Mohab Abdelhak and Hassan Kaddah due to injury, Yahia Omar is one of the shining lights Pastor can rely on.

The 27-year-old is one of the best right backs in the world. Named the All-Star right back at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the MVP of the previous two editions of the CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship (2022, 2024), the PSG player could well be the beating heartbeat for his team all the way to a top three, historic finish.

Argentina’s final warm-up matches included an 18:32 loss to Spain and 30:26 victory over Slovakia, while Egypt defeated Romania 37:26 and lost 29:33 to Norway in the same friendly tournament in Spain.

• 20:00 CET Croatia vs Bahrain

It will be hard for any Croatian fan – or fan of handball – to eventually wave goodbye to the legendary Croatian player Domagoj Duvnjak, but CRO/DEN/NOR 2025 represents the first stage of the left back’s retirement as he waves goodbye to the national team he has been part of for so long, once the championship concludes.

CRO/DEN/NOR 2025 is Duvnjak’s 10th, consecutive world championship and it is a competition he has certainly made an impact in, with two All-Star team selections (Spain 2013, France 2017), part of his 67 appearances in the global event where he has scored 183 goals.

Home soil has the tendency to provide extra motivation for most players and none is more evident than Croatia. They hosted the 2009 IHF Men’s World Championship, winning nine games in a row to make it to the final at the Arena Zagreb. But they lost out on gold to France – a team they had beaten a few days earlier in the main round stage.

The whole country will now be hoping to go one better than that in 2025, but with their last world championship podium place coming more than 10 years ago (3rd, 2013), a lot has to happen for that dream to become reality.

The first stage of this was the appointment of coach Dagur Sigurdsson ahead of the Olympic Qualification Tournaments for Paris 2024 last year following their worst European Championship placement (11th) since 2002 under coach Goran Perkovac a few months earlier.

This ranking resonated strongly around a nation which, historically, are used to silverware: the 2003 IHF Men’s World Championship, Olympic Games gold (1996, 2004) and multiple European Championship silvers – the most recent of which came in 2020 and the last medal the team have won in the three, elite tournaments.

The nation has been a men’s world championship ever-present since 1995, with five medals collected – one gold (2003), three silvers (1995, 2005, 2009) and one bronze (2013) – and Sigurdsson and his side, featuring a multitude of talent who play their club handball across Europe, should get off to a winning start against Bahrain, who they have beaten three times in world championship clashes, most recently, a 43:32 main round victory at Poland/Sweden 2023.

Bahrain are also led by an Icelandic coach, Aron Kristjansson, and while many observers may look at their final group game against Argentina as the one to win to qualify through, the Asian side have other ideas, despite 2025 being just their sixth IHF Men’s World Championship appearance.

Fourteen years ago, the Asian side could only finish 23rd out of 24 teams in their debut (2011) but they have not seen their ranking dip below that in their four appearances since, most impressively finishing 16th last time out, in 2023.

And while they do have some key names to call on, they have identified 2025 as the time to push through a newer generation into the squad, following the historic achievements over the past decade, which saw them become the first team sport side from Bahrain to qualify for an Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020).

Their final warm-up games saw Bahrain lose twice to Denmark (17:33, 20:39), while Croatia beat North Macedonia (27:25) and then Slovenia in the Arena Zagreb (33:25).