Handball Worlds 2027: Croatia in Munich from 14 January

Croatia opens the 2027 Handball World Championship on Thursday 14 January against Chile in the SAP Garden in Munich. The official match schedule lists the game at 20:30. Croatia then meets Türkiye on Saturday 16 January and Spain on Monday 18 January, both at 20:30 in the same arena. The tournament runs from 13 to 31 January 2027 in six German cities, with 32 teams. Croatia is the runner-up of the previous edition, the IHF says. Dagur Sigurdsson coaches the team, Novi list reports.

• Group C: Croatia, Spain, Chile and Türkiye, drawn in Munich on 10 June 2026.
• Venue: SAP Garden, Toni-Merkens-Weg 4, 80809 Munich, in the north of the Olympic Park.
• Croatia vs Chile: Thursday 14 January 2027, 20:30.
• Türkiye vs Croatia: Saturday 16 January 2027, 20:30.
• Croatia vs Spain: Monday 18 January 2027, 20:30.
• Tickets: day tickets on Eventim, seven categories from 20.50 to 102.00 euros.
• Main round: Lanxess Arena in Cologne, 21, 23 and 25 January, for the top three of Group C.
• Final: Sunday 31 January 2027, Lanxess Arena, Cologne.

Croatia's three games in Munich

Each Group C match day in the SAP Garden has two games, the first at 18:00 and the second at 20:30. Croatia plays the late game on all three days. Eventim sells the day tickets with the same pairings. All throw-off times are provisional, Eventim says, and the IHF reserves the right to change the schedule. Group A, with hosts Germany, Serbia, Tunisia and Uruguay, plays in the same arena on 13, 15 and 17 January. Germany plays all three of its games at 20:30.

For the 18:00 throw-off on 14 January, the Olympic Park lists entry from 16:30. The organiser's venue page gives the SAP Garden a handball capacity of about 10,000 seats. The match schedule page of the same organiser names 11,000 spectators.

After Munich: main round and final in Cologne

The top three of each preliminary group reach the main round. Groups A to D move to the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. Group C joins Group D, with Argentina, France, Brazil and Kuwait, in main round group II. Its match days are Thursday 21, Saturday 23 and Monday 25 January. The fourth team of Group C goes to the President's Cup in Magdeburg, where places 25 to 32 are played.

From the quarter-finals on, every game is in Cologne. The quarter-finals are on 26 and 27 January, the semi-finals on Friday 29 January. The bronze match and the final follow on Sunday 31 January. A Croatia that keeps winning stays in Cologne from 21 January to the last day, Novi list notes.

Tickets for Croatia in Munich

The official ticket shop is Eventim, linked from handball2027.com. All tickets are day tickets. One ticket covers both games of a match day in the SAP Garden. A group ticket bundles the three day tickets of Group C. Eventim lists these prices for each Croatia match day:

• Categories 1 to 3: 102.00, 88.00 and 72.00 euros.
• Categories 4 to 7: 58.00, 42.00, 32.00 and 20.50 euros.
• Wheelchair user with a companion: 26.50 euros for both.
• On top: a booking fee of up to 3.00 euros plus shipping.

Reduced prices start in category 3. They apply to pupils, students, retirees, apprentices, people in a voluntary service year and people with a degree of disability above 50. Children aged 5 to 12 have their own reduced level. Children up to 4 need no ticket and sit on a parent's lap. Proof must be shown at the arena. Eventim also prints a collectable FanTicket for delivery by post.

On 21 October 2026, Eventim showed all seven standard categories for 14, 16 and 18 January as currently not available. The wheelchair category carried no such note. The organiser's FAQ says single Croatia match days in Group C still have tickets. The Olympic Park reports 75 percent of all Munich tickets sold. Eventim runs a waiting list with a ticket alarm for new releases.

The fourth and final sales phase starts on 1 December 2026 at 12:00, the organiser says. It brings tickets from released event and TV blocks and other remaining seats. Tickets for Germany's games in Munich and for the main round in Cologne are gone. The final weekend in Cologne gets no further tickets. The Eventim hotline is 01806-570070, Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00.

Getting to the SAP Garden

The SAP Garden stands in the north of the Olympic Park, at Toni-Merkens-Weg 4. The arena recommends the U-Bahn for major events. The nearest U-Bahn station is Gern on lines U1 and U7. Trams 20 and 21 stop at Olympiapark West. Bus 144 stops at Toni-Merkens-Weg and runs until 20:00.

Drivers use the Parkharfe car park in front of the arena, with 3,500 spaces. Enter Parkharfe into the satnav. Construction on Landshuter Allee limits car access, and the arena recommends Georg-Brauchle-Ring. Cameras read the number plate at the entry. Seven self-service kiosks take card payment, or you pay online through Arivo Pay. Cyclists find 600 free bicycle spaces at the arena.

The SAP Garden house rules ban bags larger than A4, PET bottles, own drinks, umbrellas and laptops. Larger bags can be stored for a cash fee near entrance E1. The kiosks inside take cards only.

From Croatia to Munich by car

The motorway route from Zagreb runs through Slovenia via Ljubljana, then through the Karawanken tunnel into Austria and on via Villach and Salzburg to Munich. It needs a Slovenian and an Austrian vignette, plus two tunnel tolls in Austria. Prices from the official ASFINAG and DARS sites:

• Slovenia: e-vignette for cars (class 2A), 16.00 euros for 7 days or 32.00 euros for a month, sold on evinjeta.dars.si and tied to the number plate.
• Austria: digital vignette tied to the number plate. The 2026 tariff is 9.60 euros for 1 day and 12.80 euros for 10 days. From 2027 ASFINAG sells only the digital vignette, and the 2027 prices are not yet published.
• Karawanken tunnel on the A11: 9.00 euros per single trip.
• Tauern and Katschberg tunnels on the A10: 15.00 euros for the whole stretch.

Bought online, the Austrian 1-day and 10-day vignettes can be valid at once. The 2-month and annual vignettes start on the 18th day after an online purchase, a consumer protection rule. DARS warns against reseller sites, which add a service fee. Our guide to vignettes and tolls lists every price on the route.

By train, bus or plane

Deutsche Bahn sells a Croatian night train from Munich to Zagreb via Ljubljana. It runs daily all year, with seats, couchettes and sleeping cars, from 29.90 euros. The seat reservation is included in the ticket.

FlixBus lists 11 daily rides from Zagreb to Munich, the fastest in about 8 hours 20 minutes. Buses leave the Zagreb bus station at Avenija Marina Držića 4. In Munich they stop at the central bus station on Arnulfstraße, at Fröttmaning and at Messestadt Ost.

Croatia Airlines lists daily flights between Munich and Zagreb and between Munich and Split in its winter timetable. Munich and Zadar are linked on Mondays and Fridays from 26 October 2026 to 26 March 2027, Munich and Osijek also on Mondays and Fridays. At Munich Airport the S-Bahn lines S1 and S8 run alternately every 10 minutes to the city centre. The trip to the main station takes about 40 minutes, the airport says.