Qatar-Germany 26:24 (18:14)

There are saves, and then there are big saves. Qatar’s Danijel Saric delivered both types when he and his Qatari-team wrote history and booked a date in the World Championship semifinals for the first time ever with a dramatic 26-24 win over Germany at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall.

Valero Rivera, Qatar’s coach, who won the title in 2013 with Spain, can now dream of lifting the title after his side’s win.

“I am very happy for the team, very happy for the federation, very happy for the country, because this country helps the sport, this country deserves to be the first team for Asia that play a semifinal in a World Championship,” found Valero Rivera following the triumph.

Qatar got the better start to the match and quickly took the lead by three, then four and then five and six goals, before Germany managed to pull back a few to make it 18-14 at half-time.

In the first 30 minutes Qatar had little problem opening the German defence that had been so efficient in the eighth-final against Egypt, and it seemed the hosts could do nothing wrong with pivot Borja Vidal and back Rafael Capote playing key roles in the Qatari-offence and both netting four times. 

After the break, the Asian champions and the only non-European team to have qualified for the Quarter Finals, started where they had left off, but the break had clearly done the German defence good. 

Though Rafael Capote remained a threat throughout the match and ended topping the list of goal scorers at eight, Germany managed to bring the Qatari lead down to one at 20:19, mainly because of efficient defending and fast breaks. But as they also had problems breaking through the Qatari defence and not least put the ball behind a brilliant Daniel Saric, who was named Adidas Player of the Match, they were unable to capitalize on it. 

Consequently Qatar managed to keep the Germans at a two to three-goal distance for most of the second half, and when the nerves were about to get the better of them which resulted in some technical mistakes that opened the door for the German side, Danijel Saric effectively closed it.      

“I am happy on a level that you cannot understand. We deserved to win this game,” said a thrilled Danijel Saric.

For the Germans there was little to be happy about.

“In the first half we defended very poorly. We weren’t able to gain control of the Qatari line player. Against Russia we managed to come back after being four goals down. But today we made too many technical mistakes and missed too many shots,” said line player Hendrik Pekeler after the match that sends Germany fighting for the rankings 5-8.

Croatia-Poland 22:24 (10:12)

Poland are through to the Semi-Finals after defeating Croatia in a physical, low-scoring game that saw the lead change hands many times over. 

The game started with strong defence from both teams – a characteristic that would define the match. 

The entire sixty minutes were fairly level, but it was Croatia that achieved a slight advantage early due to their excellent defensive tactic. 

Even with one player suspended, Croatia's defence worked like a Swiss watch, but Poland were more effective in attacks and therefore took the lead midway through the half (4:5, minute 16).

Through the last ten minutes of the half, Poland led the game with a two-goal advantage thanks to patient, agile attack. 

With just over five minutes left in the first period, Poland held a convincing advantage of three goals (7:10), but Croatia found their way into the Polish goal and soon levelled the score 10:10.

Tension was high between the sides with many minor injuries and conflicts, but Poland eased their own anxiety with an additional two goals that allowed them to take a narrow lead into the break (10:12). 

Croatia came back in the second half with renewed determination and a fresh goalkeeper in Filip Ivic, quickly turning the score in their favour. 

In the first ten minutes, Poland scored just one goal while Croatia built a two-goal advantage.

But it was not long before the Poles took advantage of Croatia's many shots that hit the post, hindering their effort to put some distance between themselves and Poland significantly, and levelled the score in the 48th minute (18:18). 

Both teams made unforced errors that made it impossible for one side to take the advantage.

As the clock ticked down, the score continued to progress evenly until the last minutes of the game, when Croatia's attack failed to convert into goals and they visibly felt the pressure. 

In contrast, Poland's attacking system worked harmoniously to help them finish the match strong and seal the victory.

“I feel really happy, I am so proud of my team. We managed to stay together and united for the whole game and I think that was the key to our victory,“ said Polish line player Kamil Syprzak.

The Adidas Man of the Match was Polish goalkeeper Slawomir Szmal, whose opening minutes in particular helped his side take the win. 

While Poland were celebrating, the Croatian squad found it difficult to hide their disappointment. 

“It's hard to say anything smart in this moment. We didn't play well – they slowed us and killed our rhythm. The first half was bad, the second half we opened little better. The game was played goal for goal; we hit the post, they hit the goal and we lost. However, we weren't at the level as we should have been,“ Croatian right wing Ivan Cupic said after the match. 

Croatia now turn their attention to their first placement match, which will see them come up against Germany.

Slovenia-France 23:32 (10:18)

Is there a tougher thing in the nature than the French defence? Probably not, because what the French are demonstrating at this championship is perfection.

Brothers Karabatić  (Nikola and Luka) with goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer behind them are a nightmare for every team, so they were for Slovenia also. The French won 32:23 and will face Spain in the semi-finals on Friday (30th) at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall.

France, considered as one of the favourites for Qatar 2015, battled against the Slovenian underdogs today at the Ali Bin Hamad Attiyah arena and, as expected, they started pushing Slovenia and soon were in the lead 6:1. Slovenian coach Boris Denic called a timeout to sort things out, but France continued in its demoltion by scoring more goals.

By the middle of the first half the Slovenians were four goals behind and must have been satisfied with being so close. A cat and mouse game continued for the rest of the half which finished 18:10 to Claude Onesta's side.

Slovenia were looking much better after they exited the tunnel for the second half, so the first 10 minutes of the second half ended 4: 4, unfortunately for them they were one half-time too late.

The second half abounded with nervousness on both sides ending in numerous penalties from both sides. The French went a bit too far with their aggression as the Slovenians took numerous advantages to reduce the defecit to four just 10 minutes before the end.

The French did not allow their opponents to pull any closer than this, and thanks to the fantastic Omeyer and loud support of their fans any questions about the winner of the match as Slovenia lost every hope and fell apart with the final result 32:23 to France.

The top scorer in the Slovenian team was Luka Zvizej with six goals, the same as the Daniel Narcisse for France. The adidas 'Best Player of the Match' was, we can now say, the legendary, Thierry Omeyer.

Left wing, Kentin Mahé (FRA) was already looking forward to their semi-final match-up against Spain on Friday. “As like the last the previous matches we will prepare it with many videos of the Spanish team. 

"The two teams know each other very well. Nikola and Cédric know very well the Spanish team because they play there. From the beginning, we have to show them that we are here to make more than the semi-finals. ”

Coach, Claude Onesta (FRA) was also full of confidence going into the game. "We will play against a team that has the same level as us. It will be a difficult match. I hope as our previous matches that we will finally win.

"All the players are all right. We will not change anything in our way of playing, only two days before the match. We will just try to be lucid and efficient”.

Denmark-Spain 24:25 (11:11)

A match lasts 60 minutes, but sometimes it’s the last seconds that counts. With 19 seconds left on the clock Spain had the chance to score the final goal that would decide who would go through to the semifinals and with two seconds left Joan Canellas did just that. A mistake in the Danish mid-defence and the playmaker sent the Spaniards in heaven and the Danes in hell.

“First, we knew that the game was going to be tough and we were ready. We deserved a win because we were concentrated up to the final whistle and made it,” said goalkeeper Perez de Vargas Gonzalo after the thriller.

The rematch of the last World Championship final saw – unlike back then, when Spain thrashed Denmark - two teams at level. Until the 12th minute the same pattern recurred: Denmark scored and Spain equalized. As Denmark benefitted from the first Spanish suspension, left wing Anders Eggert put his team into the first two goal lead (6:4). The Spanish coach Manuel Cadenas reacted with a team timeout which was followed by two goals of his team.

Spain took for their parts advantage of their first majority situations and went two goals up; but the advantage did not last either as Denmark scored the next two. Consequently, the score was 11:11 at half-time. 

In the second half the game picked up from where it left off, with no team being able to build a lead of more than two goals and the players entered the last minute with a draw (23:23). 

With 50 seconds left, Valero Rivera put Spain in front. Mads Mensah equalized for Denmark. The advantage to decide the match was now in the hands of the World Champions and they knew how to use it. 

This last second goal also earned Canellas the title Adidas Player of the Match, while Valero Rivera was Spanish top scorer with ten goals. Danes Mikkel Hansen and Anders Eggert each scored six times.

In the semi-final Spain meet France, holding the Spanish dreams of title defence alive, while Denmark will play placement matches for a place in the Olympic qualification tournament.

"I'm angry but mostly disappointed. I think we played a fine match but we give away some stupid goals in a few situations," found Danish pivot Jesper Nøddesbo after the disappointment that in two days must be replaced with concentration for the last matches of the tournament.

"I think we need a good night's sleep to overcome this loss but we will be able to get back on our feet in time for the Olympic qualifications," he added.

Qatar-Germany and Denmark-Spain photos: Qatar 2015