Defending champion Norway and runner-up France have reached the quarter-finals of the Handball World Cup early.
The Norwegians remain undefeated by beating Slovenia 34:21 (17:12) in front of their own crowd in Trondheim, as does France, which defeated South Korea 32:22 (17:12).
At the end of the main round, both top nations will meet on Sunday in a new edition of the 2021 World Cup final, but they are already guaranteed a place in the knockout round.
Former champion Netherlands also remains unbeaten, having outclassed Ukraine 40:21 (19:8) in Season IV.
Two points behind, Spain and the Czech Republic still have a chance of progressing: the Czechs inflicted their first defeat on former World Cup runners-up Spain with 30:22 (13:9).
The German women can also book their quarter-final ticket with a win against Serbia on Saturday (6:00 p.m./Sportdeutschland.TV).