Round before the end of group 2 at the 16th European Championship, it was decided who will go to the semi-finals - perfect Denmark secured first place, and Sweden secured second place.
After Friday's extraordinary neighborhood derby, which was ruled out by the referees for not conceding a clean sheet against the "Three Crowns" selection for a draw, Glenn Solberg's team got the job done.
The defending champions dominated against Portugal, winning 40:33, and then received a gift from the only team they lost to - Denmark played with Norway, triumphed 29:23 and led their eastern neighbors to the semi-finals in Cologne.
In the victory over the Portuguese, Lukas Pelas scored 10 goals, Felix Klar six, while the alpha and omega of the Swedish national team, Jim Gotfridsson, scored four goals and seven assists.
In the defeated team, the best were the brothers Martim with eight and Kiko Košta with six, and Luis Frade with seven goals.
In order for the Swedes to reach the semifinals, Denmark needed at least a point against the only team that had a chance to reach them - Norway.
The current world champion solved everything already in the 1st half, because he quickly gained eight goals and routinely recorded his sixth triumph in Germany.
Hans Lindberg, Matthias Gidsel and Simon Pitlik hit the net five times each, while Emil Nilsen made 15 saves. For the Vikings, Aleksandre Blonz scored five goals and Sander Sagosen scored four goals.
In the first match of the day, Slovenia defeated the Netherlands 37:34 and left them with no chance of qualifying for the Olympic Games.
The winning team was led by Gašper Marguč, Nejc Cehte and Kristjan Horžen with six goals each, and Nils Fersteinen was the best at "lala" with as many as 15 goals.
Even greater excitement is expected tomorrow in Group 1 in Cologne. France could secure the semi-finals with a victory over Austria, although its tonight's rivals, Hungary, Germany, and even Croatia, which has only one point, hope to fight for medals.
Even Iceland, which is at zero, is not without motivation - if they beat Croatia today, and Austria on Wednesday, they would grab the last visa for the OI qualifications.
It is necessary for him to win at least four points, because Austria and Portugal have that many, which are currently the closest to getting additional positions intended for Europe.
Bonus video:
