On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 10, the groups for the Men’s World Handball Championship in Germany next January will be drawn in Munich. After 2015, this is the first major tournament in which the Hungarian national team did not make it, the back-and-forth duel against the Serbians ended with one goal – not for our benefit.
The International Handball Federation (IHF) reserves the right to allocate one or two places to the nations that bled in the qualifiers. This is no different now, however, the IHF does not have a precise system of rules on how it ranks the applicants. Nor does it disclose what basic aspects were taken into account in the assessment. Egyptian President Hassan Mustafa has been attacked many times in the past for his opaque decisions, but the votes of African countries keep him at the top of the organization.
The Hungarian association was in daily contact with the IHF. There was a scenario where the international staff will tell on Friday who the stars have favored, and which country will miss the biggest event in the sport, and at the same time will be at a disadvantage in the intense battle for participation in the Olympics.
Since the IHF is organized according to rather loose rules, we cannot be sure that it will name the two countries with which the field will be complete until Wednesday. It may happen that the groups will be formed in such a way that the fourth hat will only show: free card, to be named later.
Obviously, it would have been better to get out in a straight line, but on the one hand, no one remembers this in January, and on the other hand, it happened in the past that nations with patina lined up for the same bread of mercy. Here is the list of who has received a free card so far:
- 2025: Switzerland and the United States
- 2023: Netherlands and Slovenia
- 2021: Poland and Russia
- 2019: Japan and South Korea
- 2017: Norway
- 2015: Germany, Iceland, Saudi Arabia
In 2015, the Germans lost against the Poles, but since there is the strongest league in the world and also the biggest market for the sport, they won the sports diplomacy competition. Just as Iceland came to us then.
In 2017, when Norway was able to attend the World Cup thanks to the grace of the IHF, they played in the final against the Danes, beating Hungary among the eight.
Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Switzerland, which received a free card two years ago, did not make it to next year’s World Cup. The Belarusians were excluded four years ago, they are now you are logged in for a free card, if they get it, they can be big returners. South Korea did not make it either, they already enjoyed the goodwill of the decision-makers in 2019.
Among the absentees, Hungary has achieved the best positions in recent years, and was among the eight in 2025, 2023 and 2021, that is, if the goal is to make the World Cup field stronger, then the Hungarians should emerge victorious from this competition. But at the IHF, that may not matter.
In any case, Hungary’s chances are also increased by the fact that the other big event of the IHF in 2027, the Women’s World Cup, will be here. Maybe on Tuesday it will become clear how much it weighs in lat.
