2013 World Men's Handball Championship – European qualification

The European qualification for the 2013 World Men's Handball Championship, in Spain, was played over two rounds. The 2013 hosts Spain, the 2011 holders France and the 3 best teams from the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship, Denmark, Serbia and Croatia were qualified automatically for the World Championship. In the first round of qualification, 21 teams who were not participating at the European Championship were split into seven groups. The group winners and the remaining 11 teams from the European Championship played a playoff afterwards to determine the other nine qualifiers.^[1]

Group stage

The draw was held on July 3, 2011 at 12:00 at Brno, Czech Republic.^[2]

Group 1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Austria	4	4	0	0	148	99	+49	8
Israel	4	2	0	2	111	117	−6	4
Great Britain	4	0	0	4	92	135	−43	0

2 November 2011 19:00	Great Britain	26 – 29	Israel	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 400 Referees: Mata, Lopez (ESP)
	Larsson 9	(14–16)	Pomeranz 7
	5× 2×	Report	6× 3×

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6 November 2011 19:00	Israel	29 – 20	Great Britain	Maccabi handball House, Tel Aviv Attendance: 750 Referees: Chaskis, Tsakonas (GRE)
	Tal 6	(13–13)	Garnham 5
	3× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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5 January 2012 20:20	Austria	37 – 22	Great Britain	Sporthalle Tulln, Tulln Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Stenrand, Birch (DEN)
	Santos 12	(19–8)	Larsson 6
	3× 3×	Report	2× 3×

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8 January 2012 14:00	Great Britain	24 – 40	Austria	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 550 Referees: Kouz, Zhoba (UKR)
	Hare 6	(13–17)	Weber 12
	5× 3×	Report	4× 2× 1×

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11 January 2012 19:15	Israel	31 – 40	Austria	Maccabi handball House, Tel Aviv Attendance: 800 Referees: Malasinskas, Grigalionis (LTU)
	Neeman 6	(17–19)	Santos, Szilagyi 8
	4× 3×	Report	7× 3×

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14 January 2012 20:20	Austria	31 – 22	Israel	BSFZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Stark, Stefan (ROU)
	Weber 8	(13–9)	Halifi 8
	2× 3×	Report	5× 2×

Group 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Portugal	4	4	0	0	121	95	+26	8
Ukraine	4	2	0	2	110	92	+18	4
Turkey	4	0	0	4	92	127	−35	0

2 November 2011 19:00	Turkey	24 – 26	Ukraine	Mersin Attendance: 700 Referees: Buache, Meyer (SUI)
	Döne 12	(11–13)	Burka 7
	3× 3×	Report	5× 2×

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6 November 2011 17:00	Ukraine	32 – 20	Turkey	Palace of Sports Yunost, Zaporozhye Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Sivak, Dvorsky (SVK)
	Onufryienko 6	(16–7)	Döne 6
	9× 3×	Report	9× 3× 1×

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4 January 2012 20:15	Portugal	35 – 22	Turkey	Lamego Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Pandžić, Mosorinski (SRB)
	Ramos Magalhaes, Tavares 6	(16–14)	Döne 9
	2× 3×	Report	1× 3×

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8 January 2012 19:00	Turkey	26 – 34	Portugal	Edip Buran Sport Hall, Mersin Attendance: 700 Referees: Dentz, Reibel (FRA)
	Özbahar 6	(16–16)	Tavares 11
	6× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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12 January 2012 18:00	Ukraine	21 – 25	Portugal	Citysporthall, Zaporozhye Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Cvetko, Kavalar (SLO)
	three players 3	(7–12)	Ramos Magalhaes 8
	2× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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15 January 2012 15:00	Portugal	27 – 26	Ukraine	Nave Polivalenta de Espinho, Espinho Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Leandersson, Lindroos (FIN)
	Pedroso 7	(15–13)	Burka, Kozakevych 5
	8× 3×	Report	7× 3× 2×

Group 3

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Montenegro	4	4	0	0	135	118	+17	8
Latvia	4	2	0	2	126	120	+6	4
Belgium	4	0	0	4	117	140	−23	0

2 November 2011 20:15	Belgium	29 – 36	Latvia	Lange Munte, Kortrijk Attendance: 1,600 Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR)
	Cauwenberghs 6	(12–21)	Jurdzs, Lilienfelds 7
	2× 2×	Report	3× 2×

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5 November 2011 15:05	Latvia	32 – 28	Belgium	Sports Centre Dobele, Dobele Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Mäkinen, Jonsson (SWE)
	Krištopāns, Pavlovičs 7	(18–13)	Cauwenberghs 6
	9× 3×	Report	4× 3×

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4 January 2012 18:00	Montenegro	35 – 27	Belgium	Sala RK Lovćen, Cetinje Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Katsikis, Michailidis (GRE)
	Rakčević 8	(18–13)	Houbrechts 6
	1× 3×	Report	4× 2×

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7 January 2012 20:00	Belgium	33 – 37	Montenegro	Hall de la C.E.T., Tournai Attendance: 800 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Cauwenberghs 10	(13–21)	Mrvaljević 7
	2× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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11 January 2012 19:05	Latvia	30 – 31	Montenegro	Sports Centre Dobele, Dobele Attendance: 900 Referees: Togstad, Kristiansen (NOR)
	Pavlovičs 6	(14–17)	Melić 9
	3× 3×	Report	2× 3×

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14 January 2012 18:00	Montenegro	32 – 28	Latvia	Sala RK Lovćen, Cetinje Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Erdogan, Özdeniz (TUR)
	Melić 7	(15–14)	four players 5
	8× 3× 1×	Report	2× 3×

Group 4

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	4	3	1	0	119	112	+7	7
Estonia	4	1	1	2	121	119	+2	3
Finland	4	1	0	3	104	113	−9	2

2 November 2011 19:00	Finland	23 – 26	Netherlands	Energia Areena, Vantaa Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Rutkovskis, Dzerve (LAT)
	Karlsson 5	(9–16)	Miedema 7
	2×	Report	2× 2×

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5 November 2011 19:30	Netherlands	29 – 26	Finland	Sportcentrum Glanerbrook, Geleen Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Mykolaitis, Sniurevicius (LTU)
	Konitz, Schagen 6	(11–14)	Karlsson, Rönnberg 7
	3× 3×	Report	1× 3×

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5 January 2012 20:00	Estonia	31 – 27	Finland	Mesikäpa Hall, Põlva Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Schaller, Wutzler (GER)
	Jaanimaa, Patrail 7	(17–18)	Karlsson, Skogberg 7
	4× 2×	Report	5× 2×

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7 January 2012 13:30	Finland	28 – 27	Estonia	Sisu Arena, Karis Attendance: 750 Referees: Leszczyński, Piechota (POL)
	Karlsson 12	(14–14)	Mägi 5
	2× 3×	Report	2× 2×

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11 January 2012 19:30	Netherlands	35 – 35	Estonia	Sportcentrum Glanerbrook, Geleen Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bernet, Wick (SUI)
	Konitz 8	(19–20)	Pinnonen 7
	5× 3×	Report	3× 3× 1×

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14 January 2012 16:00	Estonia	28 – 29	Netherlands	Mesikäpa Hall, Põlva Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Kekes, Kekes (HUN)
	Patrail 11	(13–14)	Adams 9
	2× 3×	Report	8× 3× 1×

Group 5

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Lithuania	4	2	2	0	111	100	+11	6
Switzerland	4	2	1	1	114	106	+8	5
Italy	4	0	1	3	104	123	−19	1

2 November 2011 18:00	Italy	25 – 27	Switzerland	Sporthalle Sportzone Süd, Brixen Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO)
	Carrara 6	(17–14)	Liniger 9
	4× 3×	Report	4× 3×

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6 November 2011 15:30	Switzerland	37 – 29	Italy	BBC Arena, Schaffhausen Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Schmid 9	(19–14)	Maione 11
	4× 2×	Report	4× 3×

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5 January 2012 19:00	Lithuania	34 – 25	Italy	Siemens Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN)
	three players 5	(15–9)	Gaeta 6
	5× 3×	Report	4× 2×

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7 January 2012 21:00	Italy	25 – 25	Lithuania	Cologne Attendance: 900 Referees: Cacador, Nicolau (POR)
	Carrara 6	(14–11)	Novickis 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3× 1×

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12 January 2012 20:00	Switzerland	26 – 28	Lithuania	BBC Arena, Schaffhausen Attendance: 1,100 Referees: San Jose, Murcia (ESP)
	three players 5	(13–14)	Atajevas 10
	6× 3×	Report	10× 3× 2×

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15 January 2012 19:00	Lithuania	24 – 24	Switzerland	Siemens Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 3,400 Referees: Opava, Valek (CZE)
	Račkauskas 7	(12–15)	Vukelič 5
	5× 2×	Report	4× 2×

Group 6

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	4	0	0	124	97	+27	8
Greece	4	2	0	2	112	94	+18	4
Cyprus	4	0	0	4	86	131	−45	0

2 November 2011 19:00	Cyprus	20 – 38	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Cyprus College Athletic Centre, Nicosia Attendance: 400 Referees: Andorka, Andorka (HUN)
	Efstathiadis 5	(8–18)	Stojanovic, Vrazalic 6
	4× 2×	Report	4× 3×

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5 November 2011 20:15	Bosnia and Herzegovina	32 – 26	Cyprus	Gradska dvorana, Goražde Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Kavulic, Skruzny (CZE)
	Stojanovic 7	(13–9)	Papakyprianou 8
	3× 3×	Report	8× 3×

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4 January 2012 19:00	Greece	31 – 13	Cyprus	Mikras 3, Thessaloniki Attendance: 500 Referees: Cirligeanu, Florescu (ROU)
	three players 5	(11–6)	Argyrou 4
	6× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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8 January 2012 17:00	Cyprus	27 – 30	Greece	University of Cyprus Athletic Center, Nicosia Attendance: 450 Referees: Maric, Masic (SRB)
	Papakyprianou 10	(15–17)	Tzimourtos 8
	4× 3×	Report	6× 2×

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11 January 2012 18:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	31 – 29	Greece	Gradska dvorana, Goražde Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Pedersen, Mortensen (DEN)
	Celica, Stojanović 5	(15–17)	Balomenos 8
	4× 1×	Report	5× 2×

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15 January 2012 18:00	Greece	22 – 23	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Mikras 3, Thessaloniki Referees: Dobrovits, Tajok (HUN)
	Alvanos 6	(8–8)	Karačić 7
	3× 3×	Report	8× 3× 2×

Group 7

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Belarus	4	3	0	1	120	99	+21	6
Romania	4	3	0	1	109	92	+17	6
Luxembourg	4	0	0	4	93	131	−38	0

2 November 2011 19:30	Luxembourg	20 – 35	Romania	Centre Sportif Schifflange, Schifflange Attendance: 600 Referees: Stokes, Bartlett (SCO)
	Decker 5	(8–17)	Csepreghi, Sabou 6
	4× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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5 November 2011 15:30	Romania	26 – 22	Luxembourg	Sala Polivalentă, Piatra Neamț Attendance: 2,300 Referees: Argyridis, Mouttas (CYP)
	Florea 9	(14–8)	Scholten 7
	3× 3×	Report	4× 3×

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4 January 2012 19:00	Belarus	37 – 19	Luxembourg	Sport Complex Olympiets, Mogilev Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Aliyev, Aghakishiyev (AZE)
	Shylovich 7	(19–10)	Decker 4
	6× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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7 January 2012 19:00	Luxembourg	32 – 33	Belarus	Hall Omnisport Crauthem, Crauthem Attendance: 600 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	three players 6	(14–14)	S. Rutenka 12
	5× 3×	Report	8× 2× 1×

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11 January 2012 19:00	Romania	25 – 22	Belarus	Sala Polivalentă, Bucharest Attendance: 5,400 Referees: Buy, Pichon (FRA)
	Csepreghi 4	(12–14)	S. Rutenka 6
	3× 3×	Report	5× 3× 1×

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15 January 2012 14:30	Belarus	28 – 23	Romania	Palace of Sport, Minsk Attendance: 3,400 Referees: Hansen, Pettersen (NOR)
	S. Rutenka 11	(15–12)	Ghionea 5
	8× 3×	Report	5× 3×

Playoff round

Seedings

Following the main round of the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship was concluded, five of the sixteen participants earned an automatic spot for the World Championship, namely Spain (hosts), France (title holders), Croatia, Denmark and Serbia. The remaining eleven teams were split into two pots, with the 7 best ranked national teams in the first one, and the remaining four in the second one.

The drawing procedure was carried out on 29 January 2012 at the Belgrade Arena during the final day of the European Championship.^[3] Games are scheduled to be played on 9–10 June and 16–17 June 2012.^[4]

Pot 1 (7 best ranked teams from the 2012 European Championship)	Pot 2 (4 lowest ranked teams from the 2012 European Championship)	Pot 3 (teams from the qualification round)
Germany  Hungary  Iceland  Macedonia  Poland  Slovenia  Sweden	Czech Republic (drawn to pot 3)  Norway (drawn to pot 3)  Russia (drawn to pot 1)  Slovakia (drawn to pot 1) Two Teams were drawn to pot 1 and two teams were drawn to pot 3. Then the teams in pot 1 and 3 were drawn against each other.	Austria  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Belarus  Lithuania  Montenegro  Netherlands  Portugal

Matches

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Lithuania	39–50	Poland	17–24	22–26
Russia	54–49	Czech Republic	23–22	31–27
Slovenia	58–52	Portugal	31–26	27–26
Slovakia	49–50	Belarus	24–26	25–24
Macedonia	53–51	Austria	26–21	27–30
Hungary	54–52	Norway	27–21	27–31
Iceland	73–51	Netherlands	41–27	32–24
Germany	60–57	Bosnia and Herzegovina	36–24	24–33
Sweden	40–41	Montenegro	22–21	18–20

All times are local.

First leg

9 June 2012 15:00	Russia	23 – 22	Czech Republic	Sportcomplex Zvezdniy, Astrakhan Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Gubica, Milosevic (CRO)
	Gorbok 5	(11–12)	Horák 7
	4× 3×	Report	2× 2×

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9 June 2012 15:00	Slovenia	31 – 26	Portugal	Arena Stožice, Ljubljana Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Horacek, Novotny (CZE)
	Dolenec 8	(11–10)	Ferraz 5
	4× 3×	Report	6× 3× 2×

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9 June 2012 15:15	Germany	36 – 24	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Porsche Arena, Stuttgart Attendance: 6,200 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN)
	Gensheimer 8	(18–7)	Vražalić 7
	7× 3×	Report	8× 2× 1×

---

9 June 2012 16:00	Slovakia	24 – 26	Belarus	Košice Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Leifsson, Palsson (ISL)
	three players 5	(10–12)	Rutenka 9
	6× 3×	Report	6× 3×

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9 June 2012 16:30	Macedonia	26 – 21	Austria	Boris Trajkovski Sports Center, Skopje Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Dentz, Reibel (FRA)
	Lazarov, Temelkov 5	(16–10)	Santos 5
	4× 3×	Report	5× 3× 1×

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10 June 2012 15:30	Hungary	27 – 21	Norway	Veszprém Aréna, Veszprém Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Császár, Nagy 6	(12–10)	Tvedten 6
	1× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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10 June 2012 16:15	Sweden	22 – 21	Montenegro	Ericsson Globe, Stockholm Attendance: 4,700 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Ekberg 9	(12–10)	Ševaljević 7
	4× 1×	Report	5× 2×

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10 June 2012 16:45	Lithuania	17 – 24	Poland	Siemens Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Gousko, Repkin (BLR)
	Malašinskas, Strazdas 5	(9–12)	Jurecki 7
	5× 3×	Report	4× 3×

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10 June 2012 18:30	Iceland	41 – 27	Netherlands	Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Stolarovs, Licis (LAT)
	Guðjónsson 10	(17–14)	Adams 7
	1× 3×	Report	5× 3×

Second leg

16 June 2012 16:00	Czech Republic	27 – 31	Russia	ČEZ Aréna, Pardubice Attendance: 5,300 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR)
	Filip 7	(10–18)	Gorbok 9
	2× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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16 June 2012 17:00	Portugal	26 – 27	Slovenia	Multusios de Guimarães, Guimarães Attendance: 3,600 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA)
	Duante, Rocha 5	(8–13)	Gajić 12
	6× 3×	Report	6× 3×

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16 June 2012 18:30	Montenegro	20 – 18	Sweden	Morača Sports Center, Podgorica Attendance: 4,200 Referees: Dobrovits, Tajok (HUN)
	Ševaljević 9	(11–9)	Ekberg 5
	2× 2×	Report	3× 3×

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16 June 2012 19:10	Norway	31 – 27	Hungary	Oslo Attendance: 5,550 Referees: Krstic, Ljubic (SLO)
	Kjelling, Myrhol 7	(14–13)	five players 4
	2× 3×	Report	5× 2×

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16 June 2012 20:00	Netherlands	24 – 32	Iceland	Sportcentrum Glanerbrook, Geleen Attendance: 500 Referees: Zotin, Volodkov (RUS)
	Schagen 6	(12–15)	three players 5
	4× 3×	Report	6× 3×

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16 June 2012 20:25	Austria	30 – 27	Macedonia	Vienna Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Mazeika, Gatelis (LTU)
	Schlinger 7	(13–14)	Lazarov 8
	4× 3×	Report	5× 3×

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17 June 2012 13:30	Bosnia and Herzegovina	33 – 24	Germany	Olympic Hall Zetra, Sarajevo Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Lopez, Ramirez (ESP)
	Vražalić 9	(15–12)	Christophersen 6
	5× 3×	Report	6× 3×

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17 June 2012 17:00	Belarus	24 – 25	Slovakia	Minsk-Arena, Minsk Attendance: 13,200 Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD)
	Rutenka 8	(10–12)	Antl 8
	5× 3× 1×	Report	4× 3×

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17 June 2012 17:30	Poland	26 – 22	Lithuania	Spodek Arena, Katowice Attendance: 8,000 Referees: Kekes, Kekes (HUN)
	Kuchczyński 5	(13–13)	Atajevas 5
	3× 2×	Report	4× 3×

References

1. "2013 Men's World Championship in Spain – Qualification Europe Draw". eurohandball.com. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
2. "2013 Men's World Championship in Spain – Qualification Europe Draw Results". eurohandball.com. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
3. "2013 Men's World Championship Qualification Europe". European Handball Federation. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
4. "2013 Men's World Championship Qualification". European Handball Federation. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

External links

• Eurohandball.com