In the "group of death" in the main stage of the 26th World Championship, only Croatia will start with a maximum of four points!
The "cowboys" defeated the current European champion Spain 1:23 in a direct matchup for the 19st place in group B.
That is why they will be the first to start group 1 in Cologne, with a point more than Germany and France, two more than Spain, and without points are Brazil and Iceland, which defeated Macedonia in a direct duel for the main stage (24:22).
In Group 2, neighbors Denmark and Sweden will have the maximum four points. The Danes, who along with the Germans are the hosts of the championship, defeated Norway 5:30 in the 26th round derby, and the Swedes were better than Hungary (33:30).
The Norwegians transfer two points, Hungary and Egypt one each, and Tunisia none.
With victories over Serbia (25:23) and Russia (24:22), the Brazilian handball players showed that they belong in the second phase of the World Championship.
They did not miss the chance to be among the 12 best teams in the world for the first time, because they defeated Korea 35:26 and secured the 3rd place in group A, behind France and Germany. With that, they wrote off Russia and Serbia.
Egypt is also in the top 12, which after a surprising point against Hungary defeated Angola 33:28 and secured the 3rd place in group D. Because of this, the world vice-champion from 2015, Qatar, was left without the main stage.
Interestingly, Valero Rivera's foreign legion has only conquered Egypt so far...
Results - group A
Brazil - Korea 35:26 - 18:10
Germany - Serbia 31:23 - 16:12
France - Russia 23:22 - 12:12
Table: France 9, Germany 8, Egypt 6, Russia 4, Serbia 3, Korea 0
Group B
Bahrain - Japan 23:22 - 10:9
Macedonia - Iceland 22:24 - 13:11
Spain - Croatia 19:23 - 10:13
Table: Croatia 10, Spain 8, Iceland 6, Macedonia 4, Bahrain 2, Japan 0
Group C
Chile - Saudi Arabia 32:27 - 32:27
Austria - Tunisia 27:32 - 14:18
Denmark - Norway 30:26 - 17:14
Table: Denmark 10, Norway 8, Tunisia 6, Chile 4, Austria 2, Saudi Arabia 0
Group D
Egypt - Angola 33:28 - 19:12
Qatar - Argentina 26:25 - 16:13
Sweden - Hungary 33:30 - 16:15
Table: Sweden 10, Hungary 6, Egypt 5, Qatar 4, Argentina 3, Angola 2
Main Stage Tables - Group 1: Croatia 4, Germany, France 3, Spain 2, Iceland, Brazil 0
Group 2: Denmark, Sweden 4, Norway 2, Hungary, Egypt 1, Tunisia 0
Bonus video:
