In January 2027, the entire handball world will be watching closely as Germany hosts the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship. From 13 to 31 January, the world's top handball nations will compete for the title of world champions. But who are the favorites? Who are the star players? And which coaches will be leading the top nations? Here is an overview. Today’s focus: Italy.

Italy relying on Bundesliga experience

Italy have taken the next step in their development: they have once again qualified for a Handball World Championship. One man played a decisive role in securing qualification: Domenico Ebner. The 32-year-old goalkeeper made 14 saves in the 38:31 victory over Switzerland in the second leg. Born in Germany to an Italian mother, Ebner is a key figure in the squad. Above all, his many years of Bundesliga experience are proving invaluable for the team. The 2025/26 season is already his eighth in Germany’s top division. His Bundesliga clubs:

• SG BBM Bietigheim (2018–2019)  
• TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (2019–2023)  

• SC DHfK Leipzig (2023–2026)  

   

This summer, Ebner will join TBV Lemgo. National coach Bob Hanning repeatedly highlights the goalkeeper’s importance for the team, even calling him “the Italian Andreas Wolff”.

Hanning also has great confidence in right wing Leo Prantner. The 24-year-old impressed at the IHF Men’s World Championship 2025, finishing 17th in the scoring charts with 37 goals. At that time, Hanning was not yet Italy’s head coach but solely managing director of Füchse Berlin. Nevertheless, he took notice of Prantner’s performances and brought him to Berlin. Less than six months later, the pair celebrated winning the German championship together, as well as the silver medal in the EHF Champions League.

Alongside Prantner and Ebner, twin brothers Marco and Simone Mengon have also played a major role in the rise of Italian handball. The identical twins often operate together at left back and centre back. During their youth careers, both wore the jersey of Montpellier HB. Their paths later separated. Simone moved to Eisenach in 2023, joining the HBL. In summer 2025, he transferred to TVB Stuttgart, where his brother Marco joined him in February of the following year. However, only a few weeks later, Marco suffered a major setback with an ACL injury. His Bundesliga experience would undoubtedly have been valuable for Italy at the Handball World Championship 2027 in Germany.

A new coach for Italian Handball

The best-known name in the Italian camp, however, is the coach: Bob Hanning, whose full name is Hans-Robert Hanning. Over the course of his long career, the 58-year-old has helped shape countless clubs and players. His journey began as coach of the U19 team at traditional club TUSEM Essen. There, Hanning mentored two young wing players: Florian Kehrmann and Torsten Jansen. Both would go on to become world champions in 2007 and later successful coaches in the DAIKIN HBL.

In 1995, the trio joined third-division side SG Solingen. In the years that followed, the club rose all the way to the Bundesliga. Hanning later held several more positions in German handball:

• Assistant coach of Germany  
• HC Wuppertal  
• SG Willstätt/Schutterwald  

• HSV Hamburg  

   

In 2005, he decided to move from coaching into management and became managing director of Füchse Berlin. Under his leadership, the club developed from a second-division side into German champions in 2025. What makes Hanning special is his ability to combine global stars with young talents from the club’s own academy. Numerous players have already made the leap from the Füchse Berlin youth system into the DAIKIN HBL. Currently, Fabian Wieder, Nils Lichtlein, Matthes Langhoff, Tim Freihöfer and Lasse Ludwig are all products of the club’s academy playing for the first team.

Youth development has always been Hanning’s top priority. For years, he has coached Füchse Berlin’s youth teams, collecting numerous titles with the stars of tomorrow. His goal has always been to provide the best possible development environment in Berlin. To achieve this, Hanning even took charge of third-division side 1. VfL Potsdam on the sidelines, guiding the club to promotion to the DAIKIN HBL in 2024. The team now serves as a springboard for young players into professional handball.

Now, Hanning is taking on another ambitious project. Since February 2025, he has been head coach of the Italian national team. His goal: to establish Italy on the international handball map. The first step has already been achieved with qualification for the IHF Men’s World Championship 2027. The next step is set to follow in January 2027.

A Sense of Optimism in Italy

The number of appearances by Italian national handball teams at the three major international tournaments — World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games — remains modest. In fact, Italy have never qualified for the Olympic Games.

Italy have at least appeared twice at the European Championships. In 1998, the team automatically qualified for the final tournament as hosts. During the competition, the Italians celebrated a memorable preliminary-round victory over eventual European champions Sweden. In the end, a narrow win over North Macedonia in the placement match secured 11th place out of 12 teams.

Their first sporting qualification for a European Championship came in 2025 under new head coach Hanning. As one of the four best third-placed teams, Italy qualified for the EHF EURO 2026 behind Spain and Serbia. Although the team managed a 29:28 victory against Poland, they eventually finished the tournament in 18th place.

Italy also finished 18th at their first-ever Handball World Championship appearance in 1997. Under Croatian coaching legend Lino Červar, the team were eliminated in the preliminary round after finishing fifth in their group. Twenty-eight years later, Italy returned to the biggest international tournament in handball. As runners-up in their group, the team reached the main round for the first time and even secured a victory over the Czech Republic there. Ultimately, Italy finished fourth in the main round group and ended the tournament in 16th place overall.

Precisely because of their limited history at major tournaments, the recent rise of Italian handball is especially noticeable. Participation at the IHF Men’s World Championship 2027 will mark Italy’s third consecutive appearance at a major international event. The team hopes to use this growing momentum in January 2027 to continue driving their development forward.

Via Switzerland to Cologne?

Italy’s road to the tournament in Germany led through Switzerland — both geographically and sporting-wise. In the third and final qualification round, Hanning’s side overcame Switzerland in two thrilling matches. Across both legs, Italy prevailed 67:63 on aggregate.

Now, the team eagerly awaits the draw on 10 June at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. One thing is already certain: Italy have been seeded as the top team in Group B. They will play their matches at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart. This is likely to please Italian fans, as the 450-kilometre journey can be completed by car in less than five hours. Here you can buy tickets fo the matches in Stuttgart.

Should Italy qualify for the main round, the journey would continue to Cologne. At the LANXESS arena, the Italians would face the teams from Group A, including hosts Germany. For several players — and especially for Bob Hanning — such a match would certainly be a special occasion.

Images: Sascha Klahn