With just over 50 days before the start of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, we throw off the presentation of the eight groups in the preliminary round, as well as the 32 participating teams in the 29th edition of the world handball flagship competition, which will take place between 14 January and 2 February in five venues in Croatia, Denmark and Norway. Group A looks to be, at least on paper, the most balanced one, with four European sides - Germany, Poland, Czechia and Switzerland - which know each other fully well, with only three teams making it to the main round. Therefore, the clashes, which are due to take place in the legendary Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark, are likely to provide some hugely entertaining drama in the first weeks of January. Undoubtedly, the favourite in the group is Germany, the silver medallists at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the team which finished fourth at the last EHF EURO, which was played on their home court. Since Alfred Gislason was appointed as the head coach of the Germany men’s senior national team in 2020, the European powerhouse recorded an upward trend, after a blip on the radar at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, when a plethora of missing players hampered Germany’s efforts and saw the side finished 12th. In the last edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship, Germany ended up fifth, conceding a loss against France in the quarter-finals, but that was part of the process, with a highly-entertaining side, a mix of youth and experience, converging on the path to glory sooner, rather than later. With a dynamic back line led by Juri Knorr and Renars Uscins, and one of the top goalkeepers in the world in Andreas Wolff, Germany are one of the big candidates for the podium at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2023, and will aim to start with three wins in three matches and maximum points to take into the main round. Against the three opponents, Germany have a positive balance, having won 11 of the 17 clashes against Poland over the last decades. However, their most recent encounter, which took place in the main round of the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, saw the two teams share the spoils, after a 23:23 draw. But the history of Germany and Poland in the world handball flagship competition will always be intertwined, especially after the 2007 edition, which took place in Germany, when the hosts conceded a 25:27 loss in the preliminary round against Poland, but took a 29:24 win in the final, when Torsten Jansen scored eight goals and Pascal Hens added six more goals, for Germany’s third world title. Gislason’s side also has a positive balance against Switzerland, having won eight of the mutual 10 matches, with a history spinning from the first edition of the Olympic Games, in 1936, when Germany took a 16:6 win. More recently, Germany secured a 27:14 win in the opener of the EHF EURO 2024, in January, and a 35:26 win in November, in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers. Germany and Czechia have also met only once at the IHF Men’s World Championship, in the Placement Match 9/10 at Tunisia 2005, when Germany took a 39:34 win, after extra-time. But overall, Germany have won five of the eight matches, more recently taking a 26:22 at the EHF EURO 2020. The battle for the main round berths seems as open as ever, with the three other sides being close to one another over the last years. Poland will look to bounce back after a disappointing outing at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, a competition they co-hosted with Sweden, where they ended up on the 15th position, after sealing three medals in the world handball flagship competition between 2007 and 2015. With a change of generations in place and a new coach on the bench in Marcin Lijewski, who assumed the position in 2023, Poland will need a vast improvement and they hold the head-to-head advantage both against Switzerland and against Czechia. Poland have won two of the four matches against Switzerland, but the last mutual meeting saw Switzerland taking their maiden win against Poland, at the EHF EURO 2020, when current Swiss coach, Andy Schmid, scored 15 goals to help his side enjoy a fantastic 31:24 win. Poland also hold a two-to-one head-to-head record against Czechia, taking a 33:30 win in the preliminary round of the EHF EURO 2008 and a 35:34 win in the main round of the EHF EURO 2010 against their European rivals. Czechia, which are coming back to the IHF Men’s World Championship after 10 years, sealed their only win against Poland in the preliminary round of the EHF EURO 2002, 25:24. Czechia’s lack of experience at this level, proven in 2022 and 2024 at the EHF EURO, when they did not progress from the preliminary round, could be their undoing, but with a fantastic coach in Xavi Sabate, a true defensive mastermind, the European side can spring a surprise or two in the competition, especially in closely fought matches. A fantastic goalkeeper in Tomas Mrkva is a huge plus, but Czechia will have to win at least one match and their only positive head-to-head record is against Switzerland at the moment, with two wins, 30:26 and 29:25, in the EHF EURO 2016 Qualifiers. The Swiss side, recipient of a wild card for this edition of the competition, managed to balance the head-to-head record at the IHF Men’s World Championship, when they clinched the seventh place in the Placement Match 7/8 in 1995, the last edition where they took part, before returning in 2021, when they ended up 16th. A main round berth is also the objective for Switzerland now, which have Andy Schmid, their all-time top scorer, as the coach, after retiring from his playing career in February 2024, but with players like Manuel Zehnder and Nikola Portner in their roster, Switzerland will be no pushovers at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025.