Let’s start with yesterday: handball at its best, with four exciting quarter-final clashes, which saw the world’s top four teams in men’s handball.

The final weekend at the 27th Men’s IHF World Championship will be an all-European showdown, which will feature France, Sweden, Denmark and Spain, with all four teams having already won the competition at least once in their history.

There is no doubt that the nail-biting, nerve-wrecking, spine-tingling quarter-final between title holders Denmark and hosts Egypt was the highlight of the day. It looked like Denmark were comfortably in the lead, only for Egypt to bounce back and tie the game after 60 minutes. The two teams went back and forth, Denmark tied the game with the final shot after four extra-time halves and proceeded to win on penalties, 39:38. 

You can find the best pictures of the game here and watch a sum-up of what will surely become an instant classic at the IHF Men’s World Championship here.

Another game that needed extra-time to be decided was the all-European clash between France and Hungary. France fans were already secretly celebrating, but a last-gasp comeback from Hungary tied the game with only seconds to spare. France’s experience and grit were their main weapons in their 35:32 overtime win.

Dubbed as the headliner of the quarter-finals card, the game Spain against Norway had little history. The Spanish side were more focused, led throughout the game and took a convincing 31:26 win that propelled them into the semi-finals for the first time after six years. 

Sweden had no trouble beating Qatar (35:23), as they earned their first semi-final berth since they hosted the event in 2011. 

The schedule for the semi-finals has been set, as France meet Sweden on Friday, at 18:30 CAT, with Spain facing Denmark at 21:30 CAT, with all games in the final weekend being played in the Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex. 

In other news, Tunisia won their first ever President’s Cup, after one of their best displays in recent history, taking a convincing 37:33 win against Austria. 

Curious about the stats of your favourite players at Egypt 2021? You can find everything you need in our dashboard, which is regularly updated after each game played. 

Left back Frankis Marzo is set to become the first-ever Qatari to become the top scorer at an IHF Men’s World Championship. Despite being out of the competition, Marzo leads the ranking with 58 goals, four more than Norwegian left back, Sander Sagosen, who was also eliminated in the quarter-finals. The first player who is still in with a chance is Sweden’s wing Hampus Wanne, but he will need to score 20 goals in the last two games to pass Marzo. 

Do not forget to set your alarm and watch your favourite teams on TV and follow all the updates of the IHF regarding the IHF men’s flagship event.