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

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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

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

Group 1

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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) Hosts
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
  4×  Report   5× 
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
  3×  Report   5× 

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
  2×  1×  Report   5× 
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
  4×  1×  Report   3× 

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
  3×  Report   4× 
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
  6×  Report   3× 

Group 2

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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
  4×  Report   2× 
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
  4×  Report  3× 

27 October 2019
15:00
Finland   30–20   Cyprus Cocks Areena, Riihimäki
Attendance: 600
Referees: Novikov, Rozhkov (UKR)
Rönnberg 7 (13–15) Paraskeva 7
  3×  Report   4× 
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
  3×  Report   4× 

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
  3×  Report   5× 
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
  6×  Report   3× 

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
  3×  Report   5× 
5 January 2020
16:00
Finland   32–28   Greece Cocks Areena, Riihimäki
Attendance: 600
Referees: Nygaard, Pedersen (DEN)
Rönnberg 11 (16–14) Mylonas 7
  5×  Report   4× 

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
  2×  Report   3× 
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
  7×  Report   6× 

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
  7×  1×  Report   3× 
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
 2×  Report   2× 

Group 3

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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) Hosts
10 January 2020
18:00
Romania   29–24   Georgia Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 300
Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
Grigoras 9 (16–13) Chikovani 6
  3×  Report   6×  1× 
10 January 2020
20:00
Italy   26–26   Kosovo Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 600
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Arcieri 6 (11–11) Dedaj 8
 2×  Report   3× 

11 January 2020
18:00
Kosovo   21–32   Romania Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 300
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Gjuka 7 (7–15) Botea 7
  5×  Report   3× 
11 January 2020
20:00
Georgia   28–25   Italy Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 700
Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
Tskhovrebadze 8 (13–11) Skatar 7
  4×  Report   2× 

12 January 2020
16:00
Kosovo   30–21   Georgia Pala Tedeschi, Benevento
Attendance: 500
Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED)
Jupa 8 (18–13) Tskhovrebadze 5
  7×  Report   5× 
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
  1×  Report   3× 

Group 4

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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) Hosts
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
  8×  1×  Report   9× 

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
  6×  Report   3× 

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
  6×  Report   3× 

Qualification Phase 2

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Part 1

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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

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

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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

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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

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

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 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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  1. ^ a b c "Information on the future of the European handball season 2019/20". eurohandball.com. 24 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Fifteen European teams set for first 2021 Men's World Championship qualification phase". ihf.info. 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Double draw on the cards for World Championship and EHF EURO Qualification". eurohandball.com. 22 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "World championship qualification procedure confirmed". eurohandball.com. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. ^ "15 nations discover EHF EURO and World championship qualification fate". eurohandball.com. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Lithuania, Italy and Turkey secure World Championship hosting rights". eurohandball.com. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Eight teams to duel for place in next play-off phase on road to Egypt". eurohandball.com. 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "EHF presents feasibility study for potential re-start of European handball". eurohandball.com. 25 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Men's World Championship 2021 qualification play-off draw set for 9 March in Vienna". eurohandball.com. 27 February 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  10. ^ "EURO semi-finalists Slovenia in regional derby on path to Egypt". eurohandball.com. 9 March 2020.
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