Divs

Iceland vs Brazil 15:45 local time

Iceland won a fast-paced match against Korea to qualify for the Quarter-Finals, while Brazil pulled off an upset against the hosts to knock them out of the tournament and earn themselves a surprise spot in this stage. 

Brazil played an underwhelming group phase, especially in comparison with their performance against Russia, but made their way through to the Eighth-Finals as the third-ranked team in Group B. It was there they shocked the hosts after an opening few minutes that made it clear Russia’s shooters were going to have trouble against goalkeeper Rangel Luan Rosa. Their defence was excellent and the goals came in from all over the court – Gabriel Ceretta Jung and Lenardo Dutra Ferreira were the top scorers with five and seven respectively.  

Iceland had less trouble in their Eighth-Final; though they were pushed by a fast-paced Korea side, Iceland also like a quick game and so it was a well-matched battle for most of the 60 minutes. The Scandinavian team finished with a six-goal advantage and moved into the Quarter-Final stage as the first team to qualify in Divs Palace of Sports. 

Iceland have a strong team with the top scorer of the competition Oeinn Rikharesson, who put the ball in the goal eight times against Korea, Egill Magnusson (six goals versus Korea) and a solid keeper in Gretar Gudjonsson. 

The sides are well-matched physically with a tall back court on each, and Iceland should have the edge – but Brazil’s win against Russia showed they should not be underestimated. 

Norway vs Slovenia 20:30 local time

Norway defeated Hungary in the second Eighth-Final of the day by a clear six goals to confirm their spot as Quarter-Finalists. Their defence and big back players were the key, helping them pull ahead early on and never look back. Hungary fought but were outplayed by the Scandinavian team, for whom Simen Nicola Schoenningsen, Eirik Kopp (eight goals each) and Kevin Gulliksen were the most dangerous (nine goals). 

Right back Magnus Abelvik Roed, normally a central part of the Norway attack, was not seen on court much during the 60 minutes, but will undoubtedly be ready to play against Slovenia. 

Slovenia have shown themselves to be an exceptional team throughout the competition so far, with four wins and one draw, against France, in the group phase. They topped the table and came to the Eighth-Final against a Croatia side who had only just scraped through when Qatar lost their last preliminary round game. 

Their Eighth-Final performance was not their best, but they did their job to qualify for the Quarter-Final and will certainly be ready to play when they take to the court against Norway. They lack height in comparison with Norway, but they have speed and a very talented roster with the likes of right back Blaz Janc (nine goals against Croatia), left back Jaka Malus and an outstanding goalkeeper in Urh Kastelic. 

Uralian

France vs Sweden 18:00 local time

France eased to victory over their neighbours Switzerland (29:24) in their Eighth-Final match as Eric Quintin’s side were already dominating after just seven minutes to ensure their seventh match ended in a win -adding to their five previous victories, and a draw, against Slovenia.

France were having fun as Melyvn Richardson top-scored with six goals and again, will be a threat for the French as will their full 16 squad which Coach Quintin regularly rotates.

Sweden won their Eighth-Final match against Egypt 31:26 after working hard to tire out their opponents with Felix Claar running the show and top-scoring on nine goals.

“We kind of had a good start,” said Swedish right-back Anton Hallback about the Egypt game. “We missed many shots, but we fought hard in the match and just continued to run and that was the key to our win.

“We felt that at the end of the first half Egypt were slowing down and then in the second half we had a good beginning so just continued - they fought the whole game but in the end we were better.”

Despite the win the Hallback is convinced that Sweden have a lot left more to give at Russia 2015 and is looking at past results for motivation.

“We have more to offer, including me,” he said. “This is good to know as against France we are like the little brother - they are the big brother so it is good for us - it is a good position.

“We took a little revenge against for the other results that Sweden had against them - we can beat France through our speed, fighting hard in defence and shooting well.

“We lost last time against France when we played, so we will be looking for revenge again.”

Spain vs Denmark 20:30 local time

Denmark had a relatively easy Eighth-Final against an ill-disciplined Tunisia side, winning 28:14 after limiting their opponents to just eight first half goals.

Whilst Coach Morten Henriksen has relied upon left back Lasse Moller to score goals - he sits on 36 and is the teams’ top scorer, he can also rely on his two goalkeepers - Simon Gade and Emil Nielsen - who have a combined 46% rate between.

Spain on the other hand, came through a physically tough and bruising Eighth-Final against Serbia, winning 25:19 in a match which saw the score at half-time just 9:8 to the Spanish side.

Antonio Bazan is one to watch for Spain alongside Xoan Ledo in goal who had an important 40% save rate against the Serbians.

Left back Daniel Dujshebaev, one of the leaders of Spain and physical presence in his side, is their current top-scorer on 31 goals and was keen to point out the strength of his side as he enjoys his time in Russia.

“We played a good match against Serbia,” said the youngest son of handball legend, the Kyrgyzstan-born Talant Dujshebaev. “It’s a good win and we fight again against Denmark and hope to win - in our best moments we are a very strong team and are hard to beat.

“I was last in Russia last time three years ago with my family and I like it here, I speak a little Russian and can be a little bit of a tour guide for the team.”

As Spain prepare for their quarter-final match-up against Denmark, Spain’s Assistant Coach Daniel Sanchez-Nieves, put their opponents in the top six of teams who he thinks can win the title.

“France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia and Spain of course, are the teams who can finish in the top positions,” he said. 

“But everybody had this dream at the beginning of the summer, the level here at Russia 2015 is very equal, and every championship there are more teams who can win the medals - it is a very difficult championship.

“We came here to play so players can learn and improve but when you are in competition you always look to the highest position, we will see game-by-game - we dream we can play in the final and win the gold medal.

“Eventually against Serbia we had security in our way of playing after being a little bit nervous at the beginning.

“The fact that we didn’t win every group game helped us prepare for these knockout stages because the players know that we can beat any team here but they also realise we can lose to any team here too.

“They have learnt to fight harder and harder which the first phase prepared us for - every match has been a hard fight so that’s very good preparation for Denmark.”