France, Sweden and Spain are the first three teams to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s World Handball Championship in Sweden and Poland on Friday, AFP reported.

France, Sweden and Spain in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup in men’s handball

In Krakow, France and Spain meet on Sunday in the match to win the group after they continued their unbeaten run on Friday.

France, the reigning Olympic champions, easily won the match against Iran, 41-29, while the Iberians beat Slovenia 31-26, after the score was tied at halftime, 15-15.

Sweden, the reigning European champions and one of the host teams, beat Iceland 35-30 in Gothenburg, led by Lukas Pellas (8 goals) and Niklas Ekberg (6). Iceland remain in with a chance of qualifying but need to beat Brazil and Hungary to lose to Cape Verde.

Hungary beat Brazil 28-25 after trailing 14-14 at halftime, with center Joao Pedro Silva (Dynamo Bucharest) scoring the only goal for the South Americans.

Portugal will need to beat Sweden to reach the quarter-finals, but could also go through with a draw depending on other results.

Friday’s results of the World Championship in men’s handball

Group I (Krakow)

Slovenia – Spain 26-31

Iran – France 41-29

Montenegro – Poland 20-27

Rating

1. France 8 points (+29)

2. Spain 8 (+27)

3. Slovenia 4

4. Poland 2 (-8)

5. Montenegro 2 (-20)

6. Iran 0

Group II (Gothenburg)

Cape Verde Islands – Portugal 23-35

Brazil – Hungary 25-28

Iceland – Sweden 30-35

Rating

1. Sweden 8 points

2. Portugal 5

3. Hungary 4 (-11)

4. Iceland 4 (+7)

5. Brazil 3

6. Cape Verde Islands 0

The two best teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. In case of an equal number of points, the tie-break is conducted according to the direct result, reports Agerpres.