International

Germany's opponents in the first round of the 58th World Team Championships in London (April 28 - May 10) have been decided. Germany's men will face European champions France, Japan, and Taiwan in Group 2, while the women will take on Olympic silver medalists Japan, France, and England in Group 2. This was the result of today's draw in the host nation's capital.

The first round will determine the seeding

for the group stage on May 2 and 3, with a total of three matches. Despite facing high-caliber opponents, the DTTB teams can look forward to this stage with relative calm. This is because they cannot be eliminated in the first stage of the World Championships. The seven highest-ranked nations in the world rankings – Germany's men are ranked sixth and the DTTB European champions are ranked fourth – plus host England will compete in the so-called Stage 1a at the OVO Arena Wembley for their seeding position in the main draw.

The remaining 56 of the 64 teams in the World Championships will compete from April 28 to May 1 at the Copper Box Arena in Stage 1b for 24 places in the final round, which begins on May 4 with a knockout system featuring the 32 best teams.

The favorites are once again from China

The favorites for the 2026 World Championships are once again the teams from China, who prevailed in the finals against France (men) and Japan (women) in South Korea in 2024. Germany's men lost to Taiwan in the quarterfinals in Busan, while the women lost to France. The DTTB teams won their last World Championship medals four years ago: the men returned from Chengdu (China) with silver, the women with bronze.

In stage one, the seven strongest teams and host England will compete for their seedings for the main draw, with all teams reaching the final round. Germany's men will compete in Group Two in London against France, Japan, and Taiwan. Germany's women will face last year's finalists Japan, World Championship bronze medalists France, and host England in Group Two.

“Work out a good starting position for the knockout round”

DTTB Sports Director Richard Prause explained after the draw: "This is the first time that all nations will be competing for seeding positions for the final round. The aim is to enable high-quality matches to be played at an early stage. In this phase of the tournament, it is crucial to find a good rhythm in order to be as well prepared as possible for the knockout rounds. In the women's competition, there will be an interesting rematch of the last World Cup quarterfinal against France. On paper, the World Cup runners-up are slight favorites against Japan, while we have a good starting position against hosts England. In the men's competition, we also want to establish a good starting position for the rest of the tournament against European champions France, the strong team from Japan, and Taiwan, with whom we still have a score to settle from the World Cup quarterfinals."

World Championships return to London after 100 years

In the year of its 100th anniversary, the International Table Tennis Federation is returning to the venue of the first title matches. Founded in Berlin in 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation is hosting the World Championships in London for the second time in its history.

The teams in Level 1a and their world rankings

Men: World ranking 1 China, WR 2 France, WR 3 Sweden, WR 4 Japan, WR 5 South Korea, WR 6 Germany, WR 7 Taiwan, and WR 24 England
Women: World ranking 1 China, WR 2 Japan, WR 3 South Korea, WR 4 Germany, WR 5 France, WR 6 Taiwan, WR 7 Romania and WR 58 England

Links

World Championship tickets for German fans
Further information about the World Championship

The general schedule for the World Championship

Copper Box Arena
April 28 to May 1
Stage 1b (Qualification tournament for 24 places in the final round)

Ovo Arena Wembley
May 2/3
Stage 1a (Group stage for seeding places 1-8)
May 4/5
Round of the best 32 teams
May 6
Round of 16
May 7/8
Quarterfinals
May 9
Semifinals
May 10
Final

Source: DTTB (Featured image above: Dang Qiu (Borussia Düsseldorf))