Dramatic first legs prelude weekend's final showdowns

The final qualification round began with a bang on Wednesday, when Greece beat the Netherlands 31:27 in Kozani. The EHF EURO debutants from earlier this year have taken a big step to what would be just their second world championship after 2005, when they caused some upsets to finish sixth. 

The Netherlands know all about rising quickly to handball's top table, and will be aiming to turn the tie around in Eindhoven on Sunday and reach back-to-back world championships for the first time.

Another side with just one prior qualification is Italy, but they gave themselves the ideal opportunity to double that number with a 32:26 win over Montenegro in Conversano-Bari. Not since 1997 have they played on the world stage, but 13 goals from Umberto Bronzo put them in control of the tie.

The teams cross the Adriatic Sea for the return fixture in Podgorica on Sunday, where stopping Bronzo will be Montenegro's main aim if they are to reach a third world championship as an independent nation.

One of the 2023 host nations, Poland, is at risk of not qualifying this time after they were beaten 28:29 in Gdansk against local rivals Slovakia. The Slovaks have missed the last six world championships and have given themselves a great chance this time ahead of the home leg in Topolcany on Sunday.

Another big name who could not make home advantage count was Slovenia, who were downed 26:27 by Switzerland. Andy Schmid's men will be aiming to hold on to that slender lead in Winterthur on Sunday against the side who were bronze medallists as recently as 2017. 

Wednesday was not such a good night for another legendary player turned coach, Kiril Lazarov, whose North Macedonia side lost 34:27 in Torshavn to the Faroe Islands, who are continuing their stellar 2024. The arena in Skopje will surely be bouncing on Sunday, as the Macedonians aim to recover the deficit.

Iceland have taken a huge step towards qualification after beating Estonia 50:25 in Reykjavik. The Estonians had no answer to Ómar Ingi Magnusson who struck 12 times. Barring a miracle in Tallinn, Iceland will be the first team from this phase to qualify, as the second leg is the only one taking place on Saturday.

Elsewhere across the first leg matches;

• Romania are the third team to hold a one-goal advantage ahead of the second legs, after they beat Czechia 31:30 at home on Wednesday. Brno-Stred is the venue on Sunday, with the Czechs knowing a win of any kind keeps them in contention
• Spain turned a one-goal lead at the break into a 32:28 win over Serbia in Lalin-Pontevedra, which they hope will be enough ahead of Sunday's match in Novi Sad
• the second biggest win of the first legs belonged to Portugal, who eased past Bosnia Herzegovina, 29:19, giving them one foot in the world championship ahead of their fixture in Tuzla
• Austria looked to be pulling away from Georgia in Tbilisi, turning a 12:12 half-time score into 12:18, but the home side rallied in the hope of making their debut, meaning Austria take a 27:25 lead back to Vienna
• Hungary will host Lithuania in Veszprem on Sunday with a healthy lead after their 26:33 victory in Vilnius on Thursday

A reminder, that all 11 second leg ties will be shown live on EHFTV (geo-restrictions may apply).

Host nations Croatia, Denmark and Norway have qualified automatically for the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship, as have EHF EURO 2024 semi-finalists France, Sweden and Germany.

The tournament begins on 14 January 2025, with the final on 2 February in Oslo, Norway.

Main photos © Luigi Canu - FIGH, Picasa, Paweł Bejnarowicz