Group D: Two top-sides meet in round two

Portugal and the Republic of Korea will make a run for their first win at the 28th IHF Men's World Championship. Unbeaten Iceland and Hungary will wrap up the day in Kristianstad in another high-intensity match of Group D.

• 18:00 CET Portugal vs Republic of Korea

Despite losing to Iceland in a very close match, Portugal can see impetus in their performance for the upcoming clashes of the group. Repeating the same style of play and a strong defence could see them gaining an effortless win over Korea.

Portugal, however, must recognise Korea and their speedy players with changeable defence, which caused problems for Hungary in the second half of the match. When you add your fellow Portuguese head coach Rolando Freitas to the equation, you get a threat that can mess up your hand if you are not fully focused on the match.

"I feel that despite the defeat against Iceland, we entered the World Championship well with the will to win and play as a team. Obviously, this defeat increases our responsibility and we know that we have the capacity to beat Korea and it is our obligation to do so. So, I believe that we will make the match against them easier and we will win the important points," left wing Leonel Fernandes was very open on the portal.fpa.pt.

This will be the first time Korea face Portugal in their history and they will try to surprise their much tougher opponents and claim the 35th win in their 14th participation at the World Championship.

• 20:30 CET Iceland vs Hungary

If you check the top scorer list on ihf.info, among the players who have scored seven or more goals after round one of the World Championship, you will find three of them from this fray. Bjarki Már Elisson and Ómar Ingi Magnússon scored nine and seven times, respectively, while Máté Lékai also added seven to Hungary's account.

Both sides are bolstered by a celebration at the start of the 2023 Men's World Championship. Therefore, we are about to witness yet another high-pressure match. With a strong defence on one side and a powerful attack on the other, it will be one of the most exciting matches of the day.

Several Hungary fans will compete with numerous Icelanders who cheered on their team on day one, giving them an additional boost for a good result.

The vast experience of Iceland and Hungary did not come overnight. The two national teams met 20 times throughout their history, resulting in eight World Championship meet-ups. Overall, Hungary hold the advantage, but Iceland won by 32:26 in their last match at the 2011 Men's World Championship.

However, Hungary will most definitely seek their revenge for a 30:31 defeat at the EHF EURO 2022, when Iceland ruined all their hopes of progressing further from the group phase at the championship they were co-hosting together with Slovakia, leaving all Hungarian fans disappointed.