For the German handball players, Tunisia, Serbia and Uruguay are the first hurdles at the home World Cup at the beginning of next year (January 13th to 31st, 2027). This opening program for the team of national coach Alfred Gislason resulted in the draw for the eight preliminary round groups in the world-famous Munich Hofbräuhaus on Wednesday evening.
In the opening game, the hosts face Tunisia 20 years after Germany won the 2007 World Cup. The ambitious team from the German Handball Federation (DHB) also played its two remaining matches in Group A in the SAP Garden in the Bavarian metropolis. Germany suffered a defeat against Serbia at the European Championships at the beginning of the year.
The three best teams qualify for the main round. Should the European Championship runners-up reach the second World Cup phase, Gislason’s players would move to Cologne for all further matches, including all knockout matches.
Handball fairy tale 2027?
For the DHB selection, which had raised hopes of a winter fairy tale 2.0 at the World Cup home game with silver at the European Championships last year, duels with the handball great powers Denmark and France are only possible in the knockout phase, as are clashes with Croatia and Sweden.
In addition to Munich and Cologne, Stuttgart, Kiel, Magdeburg and Hanover are also World Cup venues. In Stuttgart, Italy and their German national coach Bob Hanning will face Egypt, Cape Verde and World Cup newcomers Saudi Arabia.
The eight preliminary round groups at the 2027 Men’s Handball World Cup:
Group A: Germany, Serbia, Tunisia, Uruguay
Group B: Egypt, Italy, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia
Group C: Croatia, Spain, Chile, Türkiye
Group D: Argentina, France, Brazil, Kuwait
Group E: Sweden, Norway, Greece, Qatar
Group F: Portugal, Faroe Islands, Poland, Algeria
Group G: Denmark, Slovenia, USA, Angola
Group H: Iceland, North Macedonia, Bahrain, Japan