2023 IHF World Men's Handball Championship, quarter-finals preview: Full schedule and how to watch live
Olympic gold medallists France, two-time reigning world champions Denmark and co-hosts Sweden are among the teams vying for a spot in the semi-finals in Gdansk and Stockholm with the tournament winners clinching a berth at Paris 2024.
Handball
And then there were eight.
After the preliminary and main rounds, the 2023 IHF World Men's Handball Championship in Poland and Sweden has reached the knockout stages with the quarter-finals taking place on Wednesday (25 January).
All 27 previous World Championships have been won by European nations and only Egypt can stop the trophy staying in Europe once more.
The powerhouse nations of the sport are all in there including two-time reigning world champions Denmark and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallists France.
With home advantage, last year's European champs and 2021 World Championship runners-up Sweden have looked strong so far and will fancy their chances of claiming a first world crown since 1999.
The other teams are not to be taken lightly with Norway making their best ever start to a World Championship, Spain keen to improve on their bronze medal from two years ago, Germany always a force to be reckoned with, and Hungary capable of beating anyone with Roland Mikler in goal.
Semi-final places are at stake as the field thins out towards the final of 29 January with the extra incentive of an automatic berth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for the winners (runners-up if Games hosts France emerge victorious).
Men's handball World Championship quarter-finals: Teams to watch
Sweden on a roll
Sweden booked their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare thanks to a 35-30 win over Iceland.
Last year's European champions have had home support all the way through and will continue to do so with their remaining games all being held at Stockholm's Tele2 Arena.
Eric Johansson is their top scorer with 29 goals in six matches but the Swedes have shared the goals around with centre backs Jim Gottfridsson and Felix Claar shooting at 79 and 84 per cent respectively.
Their goalkeepers are in superb form with Tobias Thulin on an outstanding tournament save percentage of 46 (33 from 71 shots).
Andreas Palicka is also lighting it up with more than the odd miraculous stop.
Next up for the co-hosts are Egypt who needed an inspired display from goalkeeper Karim Hendawy to see off Bahrain before losing their final match to two-time reigning champions Denmark.
Reigning champs Denmark rise to challenge
Two of the architects of Denmark's successful world title defence from 2021 are in top form at this year's edition.
Three-time World Championship MVP Mikkel Hansen and Tokyo 2020 MVP Mathias Gidsel have been hard to stop, although the Danes were surprisingly held to a 32-32 draw by Croatia.
Simon Pytlick, whose father Jan coached Denmark's women to two Olympic titles, scored nine times against Croatia.
The 22-year-old GOG left back is making a strong case to be the tournament's best young player, and attracting admiring glances from some of Europe's top sides.
Denmark beat Egypt 30-25 in their final group game to claim top spot and avoid a rematch of the 2021 World Championship final against Sweden at the quarter-final stage.
Now they face Hungary who scraped through courtesy of a superior head-to-head record against Iceland after Portugal went down in their final group game to Sweden.
A repeat final is possible, but there is plenty of work to do for the Nordic rivals - separated by just a few kilometres by the Øresund strait - to get there.
Norway produce under pressure
So often the nearlymen of world handball, could this be the tournament where Norway finally put it all together?
After two comfortable opening preliminary group wins, they were forced to dig deep against the Netherlands with Sander Sagosen inspiring them to a 27-26 victory after they had trailed by four at half time.
They pulled off another comeback triumph against Serbia in their first main round fixture, before booking a quarter-final berth with a 30-17 decision over Qatar.
And they had Torbjørn Bergerud to thank after his incredible 12 saves from 22 (55 per cent) secured a 28-26 win over Germany and top spot in Main Round Group III.
Next up is a mouthwatering quarter-final meeting with Spain after they went down narrowly to France in their last main round game.
Sagosen has been ably supported in attack by Sebastian Barthold and, despite facing strong opposition, the most goals Norway have conceded in a game so far is 28 which augurs well for their medal hopes.
After being beaten in the quarter-finals of the last three major tournaments, the Norwegians will be desperate not to fall at this hurdle again as they bid to reach a third world final.
France edge past Spain to set up Germany clash
Just as Norway and Germany proved a cut above the rest in Main Group III, so did France and Spain in Group I.
Both teams took 100 per cent records into their meeting in Krakow which reigning Olympic champions France won 28-26.
The Dujshebaev brothers, Alex and Daniel, have been in great form for Spain but some vital late saves from Vincent Gerard and scoring from the likes of Dika Mem, Nedim Remili and Kentin Mahe saw France edge home.
Nikola Karabatic has played something of a peripheral role for the French, but expect him to make his presence felt in the knockout stages.
France's last of six world titles came on home soil in 2017, and they will be keen to make it seven and add to their Olympic title from Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
Led by young centre back Juri Knorr - who has the most goals and assists combined in the tournament - and Rio 2016 bronze medal-winning goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, the Germans cannot be underestimated. But France will be favourites as they seek a fifth consecutive trip to the World Championship semi-finals.
2023 IHF World Men's Handball Championship schedule
Quarter-finals, 25 January
QF1: France (I winner) v Germany (III runner-up), ERGO Arena. Gdansk (Poland). (2030 CET)
QF2: Sweden (II winner) v Egypt (IV runner-up), Tele2 Arena, Stockholm (Sweden). (2030 CET)
QF3: Norway (III winner) v Spain (I runner-up), ERGO Arena. Gdansk (1800 CET)
QF4: Denmark (IV winner) v Hungary (II runner-up), Tele2 Arena, Stockholm. (1800 CET)
Semi-finals, 27 January
Winner QF1 v Winner QF3, ERGO Arena. Gdansk.
Winner QF2 v Winner QF4, Tele2 Arena, Stockholm.
29 January
Bronze medal match, Tele2 Arena, Stockholm.
Gold medal match, Tele2 Arena, Stockholm.
How to watch IHF Men's World Championship 2023 games live and catch highlights
The full event will be filmed with action shown live on the TV broadcast partners of the International Handball Federation (IHF) and their digital streaming services.
Action will be available on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions apply).
Highlights, live streaming (in some territories) and viral clips will also be available on the IHF YouTube channel.
Tickets for the event can be purchased through the official tournament website here.