(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Eight teams are in the race to grab the six remaining last-16 knockout stage spots in Group C and D of the 24th Men's Handball World Championship heading into the last two rounds of the preliminary round.
Only the unbeaten teams of Sweden (six points) and France (five) in Group C have clinched their knock-out stage berth already.
While France are clear favourites in their encounter today against Algeria, Sweden have a tough task ahead of them as they clash with in-form Egypt.
Like the Africans, Iceland can make it to the next stage today if they beat the Czech Republic.
In Group D Germany, Denmark and Poland can qualify for the pre-quarter-finals if they win their respective matches. But Russia and Argentina are still in the race for those sought-after spots.
The Group C match at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena between Egypt and Sweden promises to produce some exciting handball.
"We have to keep concentrated for sixty minutes - that's the key," stated Tobias Karlsson, Sweden's defensive rock.
After three wins, the Swedish are sitting comfortably but Egypt have pulled off two stunning performances against the French and the Czechs.
One point will be enough for the Africans, who have four points to their name. "We will give it our all and hope for the highest possible place. We have to take it one game at a time," Egyptian coach Marwan Ragab insisted.
In the other match, Iceland take on Czech Republic at the same venue.
If the Czechs lose, they are out of contention for the pre-quarer-finals, so Filip Jicha and his compatriots have their backs against the wall after their latest defeat against Egypt on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Iceland have swung results in their favour after their opening defeat
against Sweden. Their latest draw against France was more than impressive.
"We can beat the Czechs but it will be anything but easy. We are confident that we can proceed," commented goalkeeper Bjorgvin Gustavsson.
In the third match of Group C today, Algeria face an uphill task against France at Duhail Sports Hall.
The one-sided duel of this group on Thursday will be the clash of the Olympic and European champions France and the African champions Algeria, who still await their first point in Doha.
"After three consecutive losses, we must be realistic," said line-player Aski Mokrani, who is currently playing for French champions Dunkurque.
On the other hand, French coach Claude Onesta is cautious despite his side collecting five points from their last three matches: "We have respect for any opponent," stated Onesta before the game.
In today's Group D clash between Germany and Argentina, a draw is enough to see the unbeaten Germans through to the pre-quarters.
After two close wins over Poland and Russia, the Germans managed to draw with Denmark. The Argentinians also snatched a draw against the Danes. The South Americans have three points in their account.
"We have two extremely tough matches against Germany and Russia ahead of us and we simply need more points to proceed to the next stage," says Argentine coach Eduardo Gallardo.
On the other hand, Germany are the biggest surprises of this tournament, pulling off
unexpected results thus far. They will face Argentina and Saudi Arabia in their remaining matches.
But right-wing Patrick Groetzki still sees his team as "the underdogs" of the tournament. "We have won nothing yet, but we are doing well," his team-mate Uwe Gensheimer added.
The match will be an extra special for Argentine goalkeeper Mattias Schulz, who has German roots and played in Germany for some years.
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