World championship can start!

Nearly all top nations have qualified, host Spain is ready for "mission gold" and the world of handball will have all eyes on Spain from Friday on. The opening match of host Spain against the African runners-up Algeria on Friday 11 January (19:00 hrs local time) will be the starting point from a series of 88 games deciding the 23rd Men's World Champion on 27 January in Barcelona. France can make history, Spain will make history: For the first time ever a Men's World Championship is hosted by the Spanish Handball Federation, and from now on handball will be in full focus not only in the Iberian country, but all over world. After becoming World Champions in 2009 (Croatia) and 2011 (Sweden), twice European and Olympics champions France can become the first men's handball team ever to finish a title hat-trick in Spain.

On the other hand Danish Ulrik Wilbek can become the first coach ever to become World Champion with a female and a male team, if the defending European champions win the trophy in Barcelona. 14 European teams have qualified for this event, additionally each three from Asia, Africa and Pan-America and Australia as Oceania representative. Besides the current World, European and Olympic champions France and Denmark, host Spain and the EHF EURO 2012 and Olympic bronze medallist Croatia are supposed to be the major favourites for the World Championship, which starts in the "Caja Magica" in the Spanish capital Madrid. No team is debutant in this post-Olympic top event, the biggest hopes of the non-European participants are carried by Argentina and Olympic quarter-finalist Tunisia. The biggest surprise in the qualification process was when Montenegro eliminated later-on Olympic silver medallist Sweden – the only top team, which did not make their way to Spain. Group D in Madrid – including Spain and the Olympic semi-finalists Hungary and Croatia - seems to be the toughest of all . Those three medal contenders are the clear favourites for reaching the eight-finals compared to their competitors Algeria, Egypt and Australia. In group A the 2007 and 2009/2011 World Champions Germany and France face, added by the surprise team from Montenegro and the two continental champions Argentina (Pan America) and Tunisia (Africa) and Brazil. Each four European teams compete for the eight-final spots in group B (Denmark, Macedonia, Iceland and Russia – against Qatar and Chile) and in group C Serbia, Slovenia, Poland and Belarus – against the Asian medallists Korea and Saudi-Arabia.

The preliminary round will be played on each five match-days from 11 to 19 January, followed by the eight-finals in Barcelona and Zaragoza (20/21 January), the quarter-finals in the same hosting cities on 23 January. From the semi-finals (25 January) on, all matches will be played in Barcelona (Palau Sant Jordi), including the bronze final (26 January) and the final (27 January). The four best ranked teams of the preliminary round qualify for the eight-final. The group winners face the fourth ranked teams, the second ranked play against the third ranked teams. Those teams ranked fifth and sixth compete in the President's Cup for the ranking positions 17 to 24 in Guadalajara on 21/22 January. Some big names will miss the World Championship in Spain, as they either have quit their international career, had not been nominated or due to injuries like Olafur Stefansson (Iceland), Ivano Balic (Croatia), Jose Javier Hombrados (Spain), Iker Romero (Spain), Nandor Fazekas (Hungary), Guillaume Gille (France), Wissem Hmam (Tunisia) or Pascal Hens (Germany). As it is the first major event in the new Olympic cycle, experts expect a tournament of transition. The World Champion will qualify directly for the 2015 World Championship, hosted by Qatar.

The preliminary round groups:

A in Barcelona/Granollers:

France (defending champions), Germany, Montenegro, Tunisia, Argentina, Brazil

B in Sevilla:

Denmark (European Champion), Macedonia, Iceland, Russia, Qatar, Chile

C in Zaragoza:

Serbia, Slovenia, Poland, Belarus, Korea, Saudi-Arabia

D in Madrid:

Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Algeria, Egypt, Australia