2021 World Men's Handball Championship – European qualification

The European qualification for the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship, in Egypt, would have been contested by the teams that did not qualify for the 2020 European Men's Handball Championship and the 20 teams that played the tournament but were not pre-qualified or failed to reach a qualifying ranking place. In total, 34 teams were competing for 10 places at the final tournament.

The qualification tournament was cancelled on 24 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the EHF announcing the automatic qualification of the ten best-ranked teams in the EHF EURO 2020 that had not secured qualification.[1]

Format

The whole qualification process was different from previous campaigns. Denmark as defending World Champions were already qualified and three best-ranked teams of the 2020 European Men's Handball Championship also booked their direct ticket. Other teams participated in this qualification campaign, which was split into several stages.

Qualification Phase 1 comprised the 15 teams which haven't qualified for the EHF EURO 2020. They were playing a group phase format in the October 2019 and January 2020, with three groups of four nations and one of three. The four group winners advanced to the next phase.[2][3]

Qualification Phase 2 would have been consisted of two parts. Part 1 would have involved the four group winners from the Phase 1 alongside the four lowest-ranked EHF EURO 2020 teams, which do not take part in the 2020 IHF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournaments. Those eight teams would have played four matches in a two-legged play-off from 15 to 16 and 18 to 19 April 2020. The Part 2, played in June 2020, would have involved four Part 1 winners and the 16 remaining EHF EURO 2020 teams, which haven't qualified already for the final tournament.[4]

Qualification Phase 1

The draw took place at the EHF Office on 23 July 2019.[5]

Group 1

The group was played in a tournament format.[6]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Lithuania 3 3 0 0 93 71 +22 6 Qualification Phase 2 – Part 1
2  Slovakia 3 2 0 1 73 67 +6 4
3  Faroe Islands 3 1 0 2 75 85 10 2
4  Luxembourg (H) 3 0 0 3 60 78 18 0
Source: Eurohandball
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Host.
10 January 2020
17:00
Lithuania  36–25  Faroe Islands d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 100
Referees: Vešović, Mitrović (MNE)
Drabavičius, Malašinskas 5 (18–12) Selvig 6
  Report  
10 January 2020
19:30
Slovakia  22–16  Luxembourg d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 651
Referees: Nabokau, Kulik (BLR)
Potisk 5 (11–9) Bock 4
  Report  

11 January 2020
15:00
Faroe Islands  26–27  Slovakia d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 65
Referees: Nabokau, Kulik (BLR)
Johansen 9 (13–14) Straňovský 9
   Report  
11 January 2020
17:30
Luxembourg  22–32  Lithuania d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 700
Referees: Vešović, Mitrović (MNE)
Wirtz 10 (10–15) Malašinskas 8
   Report  

12 January 2020
15:00
Lithuania  25–24  Slovakia d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 130
Referees: Vešović, Mitrović (MNE)
Malašinskas, Truchanovičius 8 (11–12) Duriš 7
  Report  
12 January 2020
17:30
Faroe Islands  24–22  Luxembourg d'Coque, Luxembourg City
Attendance: 1,100
Referees: Nabokau, Kulik (BLR)
Johansen, Thomsen 4 (11–10) Guden 6
  Report  

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Israel 6 4 1 1 169 150 +19 9 Qualification Phase 2 – Part 1
2  Greece 6 4 0 2 173 137 +36 8
3  Finland 6 3 1 2 165 157 +8 7
4  Cyprus 6 0 0 6 112 175 63 0
Source: Eurohandball
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
23 October 2019
17:30
Cyprus  18–31  Greece Eleftheria Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 300
Referees: Harabagiu, Stănescu (ROU)
C.Argyrou, J.Argyrou 4 (8–18) Tziras 8
  Report  
23 October 2019
18:00
Israel  33–32  Finland Drive in Arena, Tel Aviv
Attendance: 1,000
Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
Lumbroso 7 (21–16) M.Granlund 8
  Report  

27 October 2019
15:00
Finland  30–20  Cyprus Cocks Areena, Riihimäki
Attendance: 600
Referees: Novikov, Rozhkov (UKR)
Rönnberg 7 (13–15) Paraskeva 7
  Report  
27 October 2019
16:00
Greece  26–25  Israel Lefkovrisi Sports Center, Kozani
Attendance: 800
Referees: Jović, Arnautović (BIH)
Tziras 6 (12–11) Shkalim 6
  Report  

2 January 2020
17:00
Greece  36–22  Finland Lefkovrisi Sports Center, Kozani
Attendance: 800
Referees: Pandžić, Mošorinski (SRB)
Mallios 7 (17–13) Helander 6
  Report  
2 January 2020
19:00
Cyprus  23–33  Israel Eleftheria Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 300
Referees: Metalari, Nikolovski (MKD)
J.Argyrou 11 (15–13) Katz 8
  Report  

4 January 2020
19:30
Israel  28–21  Cyprus Drive in Arena, Tel Aviv
Attendance: 1,200
Referees: Yovchev, Yovchev (BUL)
five players 4 (12–10) J.Argyrou 7
  Report  
5 January 2020
16:00
Finland  32–28  Greece Cocks Areena, Riihimäki
Attendance: 600
Referees: Nygaard, Pedersen (DEN)
Rönnberg 11 (16–14) Mylonas 7
  Report  

8 January 2020
17:00
Greece  30–16  Cyprus Lefkovrisi Sports Center, Kozani
Attendance: 500
Referees: Rauchs, Linster (LUX)
Mallios 5 (15–8) J.Argyrou, Demosthenous 6
  Report  
8 January 2020
18:30
Finland  26–26  Israel Cocks Areena, Riihimäki
Attendance: 600
Referees: Baumgart, Wild (GER)
Rönnberg 10 (12–7) Levy, Sidi 5
  Report  

11 January 2020
19:30
Israel  24–22  Greece Drive in Arena, Tel Aviv
Attendance: 1,800
Referees: Kaludjerović, Vujacić (MNE)
Sidi 7 (11–9) Arampatzis 6
   Report  
12 January 2020
17:00
Cyprus  14–23  Finland Eleftheria Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 200
Referees: Chrzan, Janas (POL)
J.Argyrou 8 (6–9) M.Granlund 6
  Report  

Group 3

The group was played in a tournament format.[6]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Romania 3 3 0 0 90 69 +21 6 Qualification Phase 2 – Part 1
2  Kosovo 3 1 1 1 77 79 2 3
3  Georgia 3 1 0 2 73 84 11 2
4  Italy (H) 3 0 1 2 75 83 8 1
Source: Eurohandball
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Host.
10 January 2020
18:00
Romania  29–24  Georgia Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 300
Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
Grigoras 9 (16–13) Chikovani 6
  Report   
10 January 2020
20:00
Italy  26–26  Kosovo Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 600
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Arcieri 6 (11–11) Dedaj 8
  Report  

11 January 2020
18:00
Kosovo  21–32  Romania Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 300
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Gjuka 7 (7–15) Botea 7
  Report  
11 January 2020
20:00
Georgia  28–25  Italy Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 700
Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
Tskhovrebadze 8 (13–11) Skatar 7
  Report  

12 January 2020
16:00
Kosovo  30–21  Georgia Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 500
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Jupa 8 (18–13) Tskhovrebadze 5
  Report  
12 January 2020
18:00
Italy  24–29  Romania Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 1,200
Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
Parisini 5 (12–13) Botea 8
  Report  

Group 4

The group was played in a tournament format.[6]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Turkey (H) 2 2 0 0 66 53 +13 4 Qualification Phase 2 – Part 1
2  Belgium 2 1 0 1 49 53 4 2
3  Estonia 2 0 0 2 49 58 9 0
Source: Eurohandball
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
(H) Host.
25 October 2019
17:00
Estonia  29–33  Turkey Porsuk Spor Salonu, Eskişehir
Attendance: 1,500
Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
three players 7 (14–18) Pehlivan 11
   Report  

26 October 2019
17:00
Belgium  25–20  Estonia Porsuk Spor Salonu, Eskişehir
Attendance: 900
Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
Robyns 5 (11–9) Patrail 10
  Report  

27 October 2019
17:00
Turkey  33–24  Belgium Porsuk Spor Salonu, Eskişehir
Attendance: 2,400
Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
three players 6 (17–11) Meulders 7
  Report  

Qualification Phase 2

Part 1

The four group winners from the first qualification phase joined the four lowest-ranked teams from the EHF EURO 2020 (not taking part in the 2020 Olympics qualification tournaments) in the first part of the second qualification phase, which would be played over two legs on 15 and 16 April and 18 and 19 April 2020. The draw took place on 30 January 2020 at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, with the EHF EURO 2020 participants (Pot 1) hosting the teams from the first qualification phase (Pot 2) in the second leg.[4][7]

The matches were cancelled on 24 April 2020.[1]

Seeding pots
Pot 1 Pot 2

Overview

On 25 March, the EHF announced that no matches will be played before June due to the coronavirus pandemic.[8]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Turkey  M1  Russia Cancelled Cancelled
Romania  M2  Bosnia and Herzegovina Cancelled Cancelled
Poland  M3  Lithuania Cancelled Cancelled
Israel  M4  Latvia Cancelled Cancelled
Turkey  Cancelled  Russia Porsuk Spor Salonu, Eskişehir
Report
Russia  Cancelled  Turkey Universal Sport Hall Igrovoy, Moscow
Report

Romania  Cancelled  Bosnia and Herzegovina Sala Polivalenta Lascăr Pană, Baia Mare
Report
Bosnia and Herzegovina  Cancelled  Romania KSC Bugojno, Bugojno
Report

Poland  Cancelled  Lithuania Orlen Arena, Płock
Report
Lithuania  Cancelled  Poland Siemens Arena, Vilnius
Report

Israel  Cancelled  Latvia Drive in Arena, Tel Aviv
Report
Latvia  Cancelled  Israel Vidzemes Olympic Centre, Valmiera
Report

Part 2

In the second part of the second qualifying phase, the 16 teams from the EHF EURO 2020 not yet qualified for the final tournament (positions 4 to 20, excluding Denmark) would have joined the four aggregate winners of the first part of the second qualifying phase, which would have been played in home-and-away matches on 5 to 7 June and 9 to 11 June 2020. The ten aggregate winners would have advanced to the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship.[4] The draw was held on 9 March 2020.[9][10]

The matches were cancelled on 24 April 2020.[1]

Seeding pots
Pot 1 Pot 2

Overview

The matches were rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[8]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Switzerland    Iceland Cancelled Cancelled
M4  Portugal Cancelled Cancelled
Czech Republic   Montenegro Cancelled Cancelled
Sweden  M1 Cancelled Cancelled
Slovenia   Serbia Cancelled Cancelled
M2  Hungary Cancelled Cancelled
North Macedonia   France Cancelled Cancelled
Ukraine   Germany Cancelled Cancelled
M3  Belarus Cancelled Cancelled
Austria   Netherlands Cancelled Cancelled
Switzerland   Cancelled  Iceland
Report
Iceland  Cancelled   Switzerland
Report

M4 Cancelled  Portugal
Report
Portugal  Cancelled M4
Report

Czech Republic  Cancelled  Montenegro
Report
Montenegro  Cancelled  Czech Republic
Report

Sweden  Cancelled M1
Report
M1 Cancelled  Sweden
Report

Slovenia  Cancelled  Serbia
Report
Serbia  Cancelled  Slovenia
Report

M2 Cancelled  Hungary
Report
Hungary  Cancelled M2
Report

North Macedonia  Cancelled  France
Report
France  Cancelled  North Macedonia
Report

Ukraine  Cancelled  Germany
Report
Germany  Cancelled  Ukraine
Report

M3 Cancelled  Belarus
Report
Belarus  Cancelled M3
Report

Austria  Cancelled  Netherlands
Report
Netherlands  Cancelled  Austria
Report

References

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