Men's OQT - Matchday 2 - Croatia and France already through

Tournament 1 in Wroclaw POL

SWE - ARG 33:21 (17:7)

As an appetizer of the second matchday Sweden and Argentina confronted in what could be foreseen as an unbalanced game. Argentina managed to remain in the game until the 16' (6:7) but numerous saves by Svensson often triggering fast-breaks or prolonged fast-breaks pushed the Swedish team steadily forward (13:7 at 23') to reach the interval with some pretty comfortable advantage (17:7).

Though a good series by Gull (ARG) in the second half and Sweden letting some of their major players on the substitutes' bench Argentina were not allowed a comeback and failed to finish the game under the ten-goal difference at the very end of the game (33-21). Argentina lost their second game which means farewell to Beijing. Sweden are still master of their own Olympic fate.

POL - ISL 34:28(15:12)

The main dish of the day and the second final of the tournament was offered to the Hala Stulecia full up to the roof with cheering and singing fans waving the red and white national colours. Any winner of the game would see the door to Beijing wide open.

Poland made a powerful start thanks to their left back Jurecki's series (4:0 at the 6'38) but Iceland made a patient comeback through Gudjonsson's subtle goals (8:9 at the 19'38). Poland gave a further boost with help of the feats of their goalkeeper Szmal saving 7 meter throws to reach the interval with a 3-goal advantage (15:12).

Iceland never gave up in the second half but regular 10-meter throws by Bielecki throughout the whole half time and in the money time when Szmal resumed his series of feats helped them coming back under a 2-goal-disadvantage and Poland before a standing singing crowd could see the road to Beijing open itself wide in the late afternoon and after a 34:28 win.

Tournament 2 in Paris FRA

FRA-ESP 28:24 (16:13)

The French crowd at the Bercy sports hall was cheering with the players smiling brightly with relief. They had managed what they were expected to do: 2 victories in two games on home soil and Tunisia's draw with Norway what brought them the ticket for the Beijing Olympics .

No wonder that the atmosphere was hot from the very beginning. Both sides were close to each other with a slight advantage for the French side, which became more and more comfortable among others thanks to Karabatic's straight shots from the back. Spain did not really fall behind but could not overcome the host either. So a three-goal half-time lead was the consequence. Early in the second half the French experienced a feeling of unease, as no less than 7 minutes passed without a single goal. But they remained ahead, as Spain got unsettled due to a couple of fine saves from Omeyer and a strong French defence. In the final phase of the game the hosts exercised their fine counter-attacks to finally make the difference. Karabatic scored 7 goals for France, while Spain's Garcia credited 6 to his account. France handball teams are the only French team sport so far, which have booked their ticket for the Olympics and they are among the few federations to have men's and women's side present in the Olympic Handball Tournaments this summer.

TUN - NOR 30:30 (18:17)

Another big struggle of the two teams, who had still been longing for their first victory in this qualification tournament was performed later that evening in Paris. Tunisia seemed to have well recovered from their opening defeat to run ahead to 5:1 (8') thanks to consequent attack play and fine counter-attacking. The Norwegian team gave the impression they could not find into the match. But things calmed down with match in progress and managed to reduce the margin to one goal with one half through. On the other hand Tunisia lost control of the match but managed to keep a narrow lead until minute 43 when Norway drew to 23:23 after another goal from later top scorer Loke (6). The nearer the end of the game the louder the nearly 10,000 crowd gathered both Norwegian and Tunisian fan groups. Norway then rushed ahead to manage a 3-goal lead at minute 50 (29:26) due to a couple of missed shots from Tunisia. Yet, the North African side kept their nerves to draw in the very last minutes and to keep their Olympic dream alive.

Tournament 3 in Zadar CRO

JPN - ALG 38:27 (20:14)

The match betwee those two teams which had lost their opener saw Japan secure a trouble-free win over Algeria. In a game of modest quality Japan managed to rush ahead at an early stage to constantly extend the lead until the end. When the final whistle was blown by Belarussian referees Gousko/Repkin the scoreboard displayed a 38:27 victory for the players from the country of the rising sun. Japan's back-court Daisuke Miyazaki and both keepers, Toshihiro Tsubone and Masayuki Matsumara performed quite well. Japan's win proved the fine progress of the Asian continent, proving that second or third-ranked teams overcame African representatives.

CRO - RUS 26:24 (15:12)

The Croatian fans at the fully packed Zadar arena were sent into raptures after the reigning Olympic champions' early qualification for Beijing after matchday 2. In a thrilling game under the guidance of German referees Lemme/Ullrich, young talent Domagoj Duvnjak excelled once again. Moreover Croatia proved wise in putting in Igor Vori on the line. Among the Russians agile left wing Timur Dibirov made a striking performance. The Russians will have a real final against Japan tomorrow. The winner will book a ticket to Beijing, a draw would already be enough for the Russians to make through.

(Credit: IHF)