Four debutant teams make up the 32 who will take to the Zagreb sand at Lake Jarun on the opening day of the 2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Croatia on Tuesday (23 June).

Each of the 32 teams (16 in the men’s competition, 16 in the women’s competition) will play twice on day one, completing two of their three games in the preliminary group stage which concludes on Wednesday (24 June).

Can Croatia men as host nation and title-holders win global gold for a third consecutive time?

Not since Brazil (2010, 2012, 2014) – and only since Brazil – have a men’s team won three IHF Beach Handball World Championships in a row and this is what the host nation is aiming to do when they open their home world championship campaign against Asian champions Oman at 1pm.

That Brazil run of golds was halted by the Croatians at Hungary 2016 when the European side defeated the South Americans 2-0 in the final on the Budapest sand.

10 years ago Croatia also faced Oman in the preliminary group stage, with a side including Ivan Dumencic, Ivan Juric, Lucian Bura and Valentino Valentakovic – the quartet all still in the team for Croatia 2026 and under the guidance of master technician Mladen Paradzik.

“We hope to transfer the maximum number of points from the preliminary round, and considering we are ‘attacking’ another gold medal, we are also expecting to go through to quarter-finals and then even further to another medal,” said coach Paradzik ahead of the event. “We are really looking forward to have our fans supporting us. This is the first time Croatia is hosting the world championship and we can’t wait to have the support from our fans.”

Croatia and Oman have already played each other on the courts in Jarun this week, in a friendly tournament also featuring Australia, USA and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with Croatia topping the group, ahead of Iran (3 wins), USA (2), Oman (1) and Australia (0).

Hoping to stop Croatia from equalling Brazil’s record of three-in-a-row will be Germany, as The World Games champions from last year aim to get on the podium for the first time after finishing in the heartbreaking position of fourth last time out, at China 2024. They take on the tough Argentina side at 11am in their opener, the South Americans looking to emulate their women’s team who have been in the medals recently.

“The draw placed us in a very demanding group, with two European teams and Brazil,” said coach Sebastian Ferraro. “But we believe these kinds of challenges are a great benchmark for our team: they allow us to discover what we want, how far we can go, and how much we are willing to compete in order to keep growing.”

Debutants Italy come off a successful ebt Finals 2026 event, where they made it all the way to the last eight unbeaten, as ‘Team Blue’ but they face a daunting task as they go up against the record champions (five titles) Brazil in their opening game.

“We hope to be the surprise of the group, to be somewhat underestimated by our opponents,” said Italy coach Pasquale Maione. “We must be objective in saying that we’re playing in a tournament like this for the first time, but also aware that we’ve come a long way since the beginning of our journey.”

Fellow debutants France follow in their women’s footsteps (2018) to finally make their senior world championship bow and they will go up against Oceania champions Australia at lunchtime (1pm).

“The squad is fully aware of what is at stake, and eager to measure itself against top-level competition,” said France captain Alexis Gilme. “We all know that we are not in Zagreb to make up the numbers; on the contrary, we are here to give our very best and to confirm all the progress we have made.”

Other highlights on the opening day in the men’s competition see Brazil take on Argentina in the ‘El Clasico’ on the sand in the evening.

Huge day for Oceania women’s handball, Germany and Argentina start on their path to each other

Two former world champions will face off when a resurgent Norway (2010) take on Brazil (2006, 2012, 2014) as both teams look to rekindle the spark of their glory years.

“Our expectations are very high,” said Brazil coach Vinicius Carlos de Oliveira. “We want to return to the ranks of the world’s best teams and compete for a medal – preferably gold. We’re working hard, with intense preparation, and we’ll arrive at the world championship ready to pursue this major goal.”

Title-holders Germany open up their defence against Asian double champions (Beach Games and continental) Vietnam knowing they can make history by becoming the first-ever women’s team to win three world titles in a row after taking home the 2022 and 2024 titles.

Standing in the way of Germany will be Argentina, who beat the Germans in The World Games last year, adding more fire to a rivalry which is set to ignite once more on the Croatian sand.

The South American side also play a side from Asia, when they face Philippines. “The dream of becoming world champions is there every single day, but we know it’s a difficult goal,” said Argentina captain Gisella Bonomi ahead of the event. “I don’t know if we arrive as favourites, but we did come with experience, which is what we needed in the last tournaments to be able to play a final, in our own way, to enjoy it and we lacked that in China 2024 but achieved it the following year.”

2016 champions Spain face debutants and Oceania representatives Cook Islands who have made the almost 18,000km journey from their Pacific home to Europe as they continue their handball journey on the global stage.

“We are navigating a pathway for women in sport from the small island nation member countries in Oceania,” said Makiroa Mitchell-John, President of the Cook Islands Handball Federation (CIHF).

“We are coming representing Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesian heritage. We carry the ‘Mana’ of all our tribes and families with us guided by our cross.

“Our players will make history with the first footprints of indigenous women from the Cook Islands stepping out on the sand amongst the best in the world. Although for some this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for most it is the beginning of strengthening our handball family by taking up other pathways where we can nurture and develop the tribe.”

Another big highlight of the day is another former world champion clash, when Brazil take on Greece at 6pm, the European side winning gold on their debut back at Russia 2018 in Kazan.

Greece were one of four teams who took part in a preparation tournament a few days before Croatia 2026 threw-off on the championship courts, winnning it after defeating Norway in the final, also ahead of Croatia (1) and Philippines (0).

All games from Croatia 2026 will be streamed live and free (no login required) on the IHF Competitions YouTube channel (geo-restrictions will apply) click HERE for more information.

2026 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships: Match schedule

Tuesday 23 June 2026

PRELIMINARY GROUPS
Men’s Competition
1100 GER v ARG, BRA v ITA, HUN v TUN, DEN v PUR
1300 CRO v OMA, ESP v IRI, POR v USA, FRA v AUS
1900 HUN v DEN, TUN v PUR, ITA v GER, BRA v ARG
2100 USA v ESP, FRA v OMA, POR v IRI
2130 AUS v CRO

Women’s Competition
1000 NOR v BRA, GRE v USA, ARG v PHI, DEN v BEN
1200 CRO v PUR, ESP v COK, GER v VIE, NED v URU
1800 ARG v DEN, PHI v BEN, USA v NOR, GRE v BRA
2000 URU v GER, NED v VIE, PUR v ESP
2030 CRO v COK

All times local (CEST). Competition Management has the right to change the order, the court and the time of the matches.