Olympic champion France reached the finals with a pristine white slate ahead of Croatia, second at the European Championships, ex-champion Russia also qualified with three wins ahead of Norway, World Cup runners-up Sweden saved themselves with a last-minute draw as group runners-up like Montenegro the top twelve teams.
Tre Kronor was about to be eliminated
The Tre Kronor were in Group E against the Czech Republic at 27:27 (12:11) before the final minute. However, after the last equalizer, the Czechs didn’t manage to score the winning goal they needed.
Defending champions Spain had not shown any weaknesses in the third and last preliminary round match with 28:24 (14:12) against the pointless bottom Bosnia and Herzegovina after qualifying for the main round.
Croatia goes through second
France eliminated theoretical doubts about their further participation in the tournament with an overall clear 29:25 (16:7) against Serbia in the Zitter Group C and is joined by Croatia after a 38:25 (18:13) against Ukraine.