Denmark edged closer to a quarter-finals after their fourth win in as many matches at Poland 2025, 37:30, against Romania, while Sweden also clinched their fourth win in a row, limiting Croatia to only two goals scored in the last 15 minutes, to take a 32:28 win.


MAIN ROUND GROUP II
Sweden vs Croatia 32:28 (15:19)

Sweden remained perfect at Poland 2025 after a great second-half comeback and are closer than ever to a quarter-finals spot. Croatia, with their second defeat in the competition, are now in a challenging position. For Sweden, qualifying for the next phase would be a great success—they had missed out on the top 8 in the last three editions, with their last appearance coming a decade ago, when they finished fifth. Croatia, with their second defeat of the tournament, are now in a difficult situation.

Arvid Skoog made three early saves, while Axel Mansson took charge in attack, netting five goals in the first 11 minutes to push Sweden ahead 8:4. Croatia looked completely out of rhythm, especially in defence, and by the 18th minute, their goalkeepers had yet to record a single save—an unusual sight for this squad at Poland 2025.

However, Sweden started to slip. A few errors in attack gave Croatia a chance to respond—fuelled by Luka Malinarich and Tin Baković, they sparked the comeback. By the 18th minute, Jura Egon Juranic levelled the score at 9:9.

Sweden's struggles continued. Even with a 7-against-6 play, they failed to crack Croatia's increasingly solid defence. Croatia, on the other hand, grew in confidence and turned the tide. Within minutes, they claimed their first lead of the game (12:11), courtesy of a confident finish from Baković.

The turning point came when Nikola Kahlina entered the goal for Croatia. With four saves from ten attempts, he brought the stability Croatia had lacked early on and helped his team build a four-goal advantage heading into halftime.

Sweden's efficiency increased in the opening minutes of the second half—it went from 62% to 72%—and allowed them to reduce the deficit to one (19:20) and later to level (23:23). Arvid Skoog found new energy between the posts with a new string of saves and gave a new feeling to the game.

The great battle continued. It was a nip-and-tuck contest, with both sides refusing to give an inch. Goalkeepers traded saves, while attacks on both ends were under constant pressure to deliver. Sweden's persistence finally paid off in the 51st minute. Axel Mansson, already with ten goals to his name, netted from the penalty to score his 11th and put Sweden back in front—28:27—their first lead since 11:10 back in the 21st minute.

Sweden had a few chances to create an even wider gap, but a series of rushed shots stood in their way—trying to get over Croatia's block too soon, it was an easy job for Kahlina. Croatia tried to use that push for easy goals from transition, but turnovers made them suffer. Sweden managed to get their hands on a 30:28 lead and, with a couple more on-point saves from Skoog, they secured an important win.

Player of the Match: Tin Baković (Croatia)

MAIN ROUND GROUP III
Denmark vs Romania 37:30 (18:17)

As Denmark started the main round with two points and Romania with zero, the pressure was on Adrian Petrea’s side to deliver, as their hopes for a main round berth would have been slimmed to almost zero provided they failed to take at least one point in this match.

But Denmark received a morale boost after their win against France two days ago, at the end of the preliminary round, and looked confident, especially as they used a 4:0 unanswered run to open up an 8:4 lead, with a strong defence which prompted several converted fast breaks.

Yet Romania, which conceded a single loss in their first three matches, slowly started to bounce back. Lifted by right back Codrin Radu, centre back Daniel Stanciuc and right wing Sorin Grigore, who scored four goals each, they quickly turned the match around and managed to tie the score, 14:14, with six minutes to go in the first half.

Boosted by five goals from Nikolaj Larsson and four goals from Frederik Jaegerum, Denmark took the lead again, and had the chance to open a three-goal lead at the break, but a steal and a converted fast break from Stanciuc saw Romania just behind Denmark at the break, 18:17.

Once again, a 4:0 run, spurred by Larsson and centre back Frederik Emil Pedersen, the top scorer of the match with eight goals, took Denmark once again to a four-goal lead, 25:21, and another 4:0 run increased the lead to seven goals, 29:22, with Romania’s lack of depth outside their starting backs being felt like a shockwave.

As Romania’s goalkeepers managed only five saves between them before the 52nd minute, for a meagre 14% saving efficiency, there was nothing Adrian Petrea’s side could do to mount a comeback, as the gap grew even higher. A 3:0 run for Romania finally managed to weather the storm, but it was too little, too late, as Denmark eventually clinched a 37:30 win.

Denmark made a big step towards the quarter-finals, now having four points, while Romania’s chances of progression are only virtual, with the Romanian side conceding their second consecutive loss to stay on zero points before they meet France on Tuesday.

Player of the Match: Frederik Emil Pedersen (Denmark)

PRESIDENT’S CUP GROUP I
Argentina vs Uruguay 35:16 (17:8)

President’s Cup Group I features three South American teams, and two of them met on Monday. Last year, they faced each other in the semi-final of the 2024 South and Central America Men’s Junior Handball Championship, where Argentina won 27:16 on their way to the title. Once again, the Argentines had the upper hand, claiming their second straight victory at Poland 2025.

They showed their superiority from the opening minutes, opening up a 7:0 lead before Rodrigo Mendez finally scored Uruguay’s first goal in the 13th minute. After that, the Uruguayans somewhat improved their attack, but they could not match Argentina, whose goalkeeper Lautaro Rodriguez delivered nine saves in the first half to help his team to a nine-goal lead.

Not much changed after the break, as Argentina continued to extend the gap, posing big problems for their continental rivals, with 12 of their players putting their names on the scoresheet. Uruguay’s centre back Pedro Cabrera became the top scorer of the match, accounting for seven goals—nearly half of his team’s tally. However, his team were restricted to a 36% shot efficiency and suffered their fourth consecutive loss.

Player of the Match: Santiago Laborde (Argentina)