Spain is the host of the 2013 Men’s World Championship - and all 24 participating nations have been established since last weekend after completion of the qualifications in Pan-America and Oceania. Only host Spain and defending champions France had directly qualified; the remaining 22 teams had to undergo qualification in their continents (see details below).
The draw will take place on 19 July in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The World Championship will be played from 11 to 27 January 2013 in Barcelona, Granollers, Madrid, Zaragoza, Seville and Guadalajara with the final weekend in Barcelona. The match system was changed in 2011: The knock-out stage - starting with the eighth-finals - will be staged straight after the preliminary round.
The President’s Cup (21/22 January) will see those teams that rank fifth and sixth in their four preliminary round groups to miss the eighth-finals. The tournament opener will see host Spain on 11 January. The preliminary round will be played until 19 January, followed by eighth-finals (20/21 January), quarter-finals (23 January) and semi-finals (25 January). The matches for medals on 27 January will mark the end of the World Championship.
Summary of continental qualifications:
Asian Championships in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:
Semi-finals:
Korea - Saudi Arabia 27:26
Qatar - Japan 33:28
Bronze final:
Saudi Arabia - Japan 25:21
Final:
Korea - Qatar 23:22
Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia qualified for Spain 2013.
African Championships in Rabat, Morocco:
Semi-finals:
Tunisia - Morocco 28:16
Algeria - Egypt 26:25
Bronze final:
Egypt - Morocco 29:15
Final:
Tunisia - Algeria 23:20
Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt qualified for Spain 2013.
Pan-American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Semi-finals:
Argentina -. Uruguay 28:13
Brazil - Chile 35:33
Bronze final:
Chile - Uruguay 37:27
Final:
Argentina - Brazil 22:21
Argentina, Brazil and Chile qualified for Spain 2013.
Oceania Play-Offs in Sydney, Australia:
Australia - New Zealand 31:10, 31:10
Australia qualified for Spain 2013.
European Championships in Serbia:
Semi-finals:
Serbia - Croatia 26:22
Denmark - Spain 25:24
Bronze final:
Croatia - Spain 31:27
Final:
Denmark - Serbia 21:19
Denmark, Serbia and Croatia directly qualified for Spain 2013.
European Play-Offs:
Czech Republic - Russia 27:31 (10:18) - first leg: 22:23 (12:11)
Portugal - Slovenia 26:27 (8:13) - first leg: 26:31 (10:11)
Bosnia Herzegovina - Germany 33:24 (15:12) - first leg: 24:36 (7:18)
Belarus - Slovakia 24:25 (10:12) - first leg: 26:24 (12:10)
Austria - Macedonia 30:27 (13:14) - first leg: 21:26 (10:16)
Poland - Lithuania 26:22 (13:13) - first leg: 24:17 (12:9)
Norway - Hungary 31:27 (14:13) - first leg: 21:27 (10:12)
Montenegro - Sweden 20:18 (11:9) - first leg: 21:22 (10:12)
Netherlands - Iceland 24:32 (12:15) - first leg: 27:41 (14:17)
Russia, Slovenia, Germany, Belarus, Macedonia, Poland, Hungary, Montenegro and Iceland qualified for Spain 2013.
