Group A: Three teams fighting for two main round spots

While Spain are already through to the next stage after two consecutive wins, three other teams in Group A – Montenegro, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Chile – stay in the fight for the two remaining main round berths, and their fate will be decided in two Monday matches. 

Notably, these three sides have yet to advance from the preliminary group at the Men's IHF World Championship, so each hopes to write history. 

• 18:00 CET: Montenegro vs Chile

Montenegro have two points following a win against Iran; even a draw against Chile will be enough for them to go through. In turn, the South American team have lost their encounters and will only have a chance to reach the main round with a win. 

If Chile beat Montenegro and Iran snatch some points from Spain, Chile will progress alongside Iran. But if Chile win and Iran lose, three teams will be level on two points, and the goal difference in head-to-head encounters will be a tie-breaker.

As Iran have a "-2" goal difference following their encounters with Chile and Montenegro, the South Americans, who lost against Iran by a small margin (24:25), will need any victory in that case. And if they win by more than four goals, Montenegro will drop to the fourth position.

However, these calculations will not be needed if the European side takes at least one point – a likely scenario, as Montenegro are the favourites on paper. In their only previous encounter, they defeated Chile at the 2013 Men's IHF World Championship, 35:31 — notably, it was the Balkan team's only win at this level before Poland/Sweden 2023.

Now they recorded another victory, 34:31 against Iran, and head coach Zoran Roganović has been satisfied with his team so far.
"I'm sure that our team will not stop. There is still room for improvement and I think we'll progress from match to match; this is our goal. We still have a lot to show at this World Championship," he said.

• 20:30 CET: Islamic Republic of Iran vs Spain

Spain are one of the competition's favourites and they have lived up to expectations so far. Two wins, 30:25 against Montenegro and 34:26 against Chile, helped them to secure a main round berth with one group match to go.

However, head coach Jordi Ribera is not fully satisfied with his team's performance.

"We lacked rhythm in the first half, but the important thing is that we added two points. It's clear that we need to improve. Sometimes these matches help to see that it's necessary to work from the first minute until the end," he said after the match against Chile. 

Spain are already certain to take two points with them to the next stage, and they will add two more if they beat the Islamic Republic of Iran and in case the Asian side also progresses.

As it looks now, Iran have a fair chance to go through even if they lose against Spain. However, if Chile beat Montenegro by fewer than five goals, the Asian side will drop to the fourth position. 

So far, Iran have been quite competitive at their only second World Championship, as they beat Chile 25:24 and fought hard against Montenegro, losing 31:34.

"I'm proud of my players. We tried to catch Montenegro, but it was too much. This is a big school for us," Iran's coach Veselin Vujović said after the match on Saturday.

Iran and Spain have faced each other in a competitive match just once, in the group phase of the 2016 Olympic Games, when the Europeans won 37:23. And in their friendly encounter in January 2022, Spain won with the same goal difference (36:22).