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.

That Asian championship was Qatar’s last major, competitive event after they failed in their Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualification quest on home soil a few months earlier, with the departing Spanish coach Valero Rivera, who had been in the position for a decade and who had led the Asian nation to silver at the 2015 IHF Men’s World Championship, held in Doha, Qatar.

And while it is unlikely that Vujović will be able to repeat a podium place that Rivera gained in his very first global event with the Asian side – silver in 2015 – the new incumbent will surely be able to achieve better than the 22nd spot Qatar ended with at the last world championship in 2023 – their second worst-ever ranking in nine appearances and worst in the new format of 32 teams.

At Poland/Sweden 2023 they won just once, against Algeria (29:24) in the preliminary group stage, losing their two other first stage games against Germany (27:31) and Serbia (24:34) before going on to lose all three main round games, against Netherlands (30:32), Norway (17:30) and Argentina (22:26).

“The circumstances are different and Qatar are not at the same level as before, but as a coach I know very well the difficulty of the task at this stage,” said Vujović after being announced as Qatar’s coach.

“But I accepted it, and therefore I will live up to the expectations of the officials in the Qatari Handball Association who gave me this opportunity in order to win the challenge and bring Qatari handball to the best position in Asia and the world.”

Just 10 players from the 2023 World Championship disappointment made it through to the continental final squad a year later, and further team changes were made in friendlies against Bahrain and Egypt this May.

Despite the changes, familiar names such as Zarko Markovic, Frankis Marzo, Rafael Capote and Youssef Ali were all in the squad for those games, but with one eye on the future, Vujović is likely to bring in a number of new names, thanks to his knowledge of Qatari handball, cemented by having coached Al-Sadd in the Qatari league previously.

“The doors to join our national team are open to everyone; it is not limited to a specific player, and we do not look at the ages of the players as much as we look at the levels and fighting spirit of the player on the field,” he said.

“We will try through our follow-up of the league championship in the next stage to choose the best players who can provide an addition to the national team, especially since there are important commitments awaiting us. We will work to push new blood to serve the national team and Qatari handball."

Vujović is no stranger to world championship metal, taking bronze while in charge of Slovenia at the 2017 IHF Men’s World Championship – completing the full set of competition medals if you consider his gold (1986) and silver (1982) won as a player with the former Yugoslavia.

The debut IHF Men’s Player of the Year (1988) will hope his side, led by the experienced captain Abdulrazzaq Murad and veteran attacking threat Frankis Marzo – top-scorer at Egypt 2021 (58 goals) and returning to action after missing Poland/Sweden 2023 due to injury – can find the form which saw them nearly go all the way on home soil just under a decade ago.

The Asian champions are on their best qualification run, with Croatia/Denmark/Norway their seventh, consecutive world championship appearance.

“Since 2013 we have consistently qualified, but, for sure, it’s a different feeling qualifying this time, even if we have qualified before,” said Murad to ihf.info ahead of the preparation period. “We aim to achieve our best, as per our team character, but this is our first championship with a new coach. But what I can say is that our team is one family.”

The Asian champions should have no problem qualifying through from their preliminary group at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, with the third and final group game, against Kuwait, likely to confirm their progression. At the continental championships in January, Qatar beat their Gulf rivals in the preliminary round (24:20) and semi-final (33:26) on their way to gold.

While a win against Kuwait should ensure a main round spot – and a very happy 64th birthday present for Vujović – Qatar’s campaign opens with a tough assignment against France – their 2015 IHF Men’s World Championship final opponents – followed by Austria, who they met at the same championship, dispatching them 29:27 in the eighth-finals.

Qatar will look to host a national team pre-world championship before heading to Europe for a camp, complete with the friendly, warm-up matches.

Key players: Frankis Marzo (left back), Youssef Ben Ali (line player)

Qualification for Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025: 2024 Asian Men’s Championship – 1st place

History in tournament: 2003: 16th, 2005: 21st, 2007: 23rd, 2013: 20th, 2015: 2nd, 2017: 8th, 2019: 13th, 2021: 8th, 2023: 22nd

Group at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025: Group C (Austria, France, Kuwait, Qatar)