With four points after two matches, Sweden and Egypt have already secured their spots in the main round and on Monday they will play for the top spot in Group G.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia and Chile, who have no points, will fight for the third ticket to the main round in their direct duel. 

North Macedonia vs Chile 16:30 CAT

Only a victory in their last group match will see North Macedonia advance to the next competition stage, while a draw will be enough for Chile, who have a better goal difference.

However, the South Americans are also hoping to claim two points.

“We must prepare in the best possible way, fight and win against North Macedonia,” Chile’s coach Mateo Garralda said.
“Our goal is to win in order to reach the main round. We need to limit the mistakes we made in the first two matches,” said left back Erwin Feuchtmann.

However, it was North Macedonia who narrowly won both matches against Chile at past World Championships. In 2013, the Balkan side earned a 30:28 victory in the preliminary round, and in 2019, they were the stronger side in the 15th-place match, winning 32:30.

This year, the teams played two friendly matches in Skopje before the World Championship, and North Macedonia again won twice – 25:21 and 28:24 – which gives them some optimism before the do-or-die game on Monday. 

“We faced Chile recently and know their qualities, but we must play much better than in the two previous group matches in order to reach the main round,” line player Nikola Markoski said.

Sweden vs Egypt 19:00 CAT

Both teams impressed with their attacking power on Saturday, as Egypt defeated North Macedonia 38:19 while Sweden hit the 40-goal mark against Chile, winning 41:26.

With their main round berths already secured, both rivals will play not just for the top spot in Group G, but also for the points to carry over to the next stage. 

In case of a draw, both teams will start the main round on three points, but Sweden would rank above Egypt thanks to a better goal difference.

“It will be a tough game, as Egypt have a lot of good players, but we will watch videos and prepare well in order to beat them,” said Sweden’s coach Glenn Solberg.

His Egyptian colleague Roberto Garcia Parrondo is also looking forward to a tight fight on Monday. 

“Everyone knows that Sweden is a good team, one of the best in Europe and with a great history, so I expect a tough match,” he said.

Notably, Sweden and Egypt were drawn into the same preliminary group at the fourth straight World Championship. While the teams split the points in 2015 (25:25), Sweden won both encounters that followed – 33:26 in 2017 and 27:24 in 2019.