section_path: Qualification/Wildcards
section_name: Wildcards
paragraph_text: Wildcards
  
  After no Oceanian team achieved a top 5 finish in the Asian Championship, two wildcards were given out by the IHF.
  
  As the host country of the 2028 Summer Olympics, the first wildcard was given to United States on 18 October 2018. Regarding the second wildcard, 12 non-classificated nations reportedly applied. On 23 May 2024, it was announced that the second wildcard was given to Switzerland due to multiple reasons: their sporting merit, their commercial reach, their sporting project and also due to the fact that the proposal made by the Swiss broadcast partner was the most commercially interesting for the IHF. Prior to their selection, Switzerland's coach, Andy Schmid, stated that after their narrow penalty shootout loss to Slovenia, the Swiss' performance merited a wildcard.