The long and winding road to the 2023 Men's World Championship in Sweden and Poland begins on Thursday 19 August with a draw for Qualification Europe Phase 1 at 11:00 CEST.

16 teams, who did not qualify for EHF EURO 2022, enter the competition at this stage. Phase 1 will be played in four groups of four teams.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for 2023 Men’s World Championship Qualification Europe Phase 2 part 1.

Draw procedure

The 16 teams have been divided into the following four pots, based on the Men’s National Team Ranking.

POT 1: Romania, Latvia, Belgium, Finland
POT 2: Italy, Turkey, Israel, Estonia
POT 3: Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus, Georgia
POT 4: Kosovo, Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Moldova

After the division of teams into four groups, there will be another draw to decide the organising rights for the four groups.