After completion of matchday 2 nine teams kept their clean sheet. Read below the short match summaries.
Group A
Australia - Slovakia 12:47 (6:20)
A second win for Slovakia and a second clear defeat for Australia. The team from the fifth continent did not have the slightest chance against the Central Europeans. If Tommy Fletcher had not appeared in great shape again (6 goals), the defeat of team from down under would have been even greater. After 14 minutes the Slovaks were ahead at 14:4 and the one-side match was already over. During the following 33 minutes Fletcher was the sole Australian who scored while the WCh newcomers further extended their lead by minute 53. Radoslav Antl scored eight goals out of eight attempts to become Slovakia's top scorer.
Romania - Hungary 27:30 (16:13)
Romania was the predominant side 45 minutes long before Hungary broke away in the neighbours' duel. The Magyars thus claimed their second win while Romania had to give in again. Two goalkeepers, showing an excellent performance, left their marks on the match. Romania's Rudi Stanescu saved 16 shots, Nenad Puljezevic went even further to decide the match. Hungary started well but the four-time World champions turned the match at 4:7. Their highest margin was reached at 22:17 (‘41) and also marked the turning point. Hungary scored six goals in a row, yet, the final phase remained close. Romania stayed in the lead the last time at 25:24 before Laszlo Nagy's double (8 goals to become the top scorer) made Hungary the lucky winner.
Argentina - France 26:33 (15:19)
Argentina fought bravely but finally the big favourites claimed a trouble-free win despite their multiple replacements in the second half. The gauchos showed complete team work and asked a lot from France, which had trouble to get their game going. The Olympic champions did indeed never give away the lead but only the score of 17:12 gave the impression of a somewhat comfortable lead. Michael Guigou, who scored 7 goals, was the outstanding man of the first half. His role was taken over by Jerome Fernandez after changing ends, who netted six. The match was over when the score showed the 9-goal lead for France. The last minute for Argentina was just to improve the final score.
Group B
Cuba - Spain 20:45 (10:24)
On a walkover Spain outlined Cuba, which conceded their second clear defeat: Just two matches brought a goal difference of +55 for the Iberians. The match was over long before the half-time whistle - their milestones in the first half were 8:2, 16:5 and 22:7. Cuba had nothing to resist. Spain's Juan Garcia was the top scorer, netting nine. All Spanish field players scored at least one goal. The 15-goal margin was attained at 26:11, 20 at 37:17 and the final margin in the one-sided match even reached 25.
Korea - Sweden 25:31 (12:16)
Asian champions Korea will have to struggle hard to still make through to the next phase. Following their second defeat in a row they will have to overcome big favourites Spain to keep the chance of qualifying. Sweden, on the other hand, showed a solid performance in attack and proved strong in defence to keep the clear sheet, having gained 4:0 points from two matches. Sweden's top shooter Jonas Källman scored seven goals followed by Carlsson and Carlen (5 goals each). Following an early 6:2 lead the Three-Crown team never gave away their advantage in the first half. After changing ends Korea came closer to 14:16 but then Sweden picked up speed. Yet, the match remained exciting until six minutes before the final whistle, as Korea caught up again to reduce the margin to 3 (22:25). But Lennartsson's and Carlen's three goals did not leave any doubt of Sweden's win. Keeper Andreas Palicka proved a solid support between the posts.
Kuwait - Croatia 21:40 (13:22)
Croatia made light work of underdog Kuwait to secure their second win. The match was over at half-time. In the second interval helpless Kuwaiti scored just eight goals. Croatia's wing player Goran Sprem (8 goals) and Igor Cupic (6) proved strong while Mahdi Alqualaf netted five for Kuwait.
Group C
Algeria - Macedonia 19:32 (8:16)
Macedonia proved well recovered from their narrow opening defeat against Tunisia to outclass the North African side. Algeria kept up well until 7:7 but nine goals in a row for Macedonia meant an early decision. Keeper Petar Angelov was of great help, attaining 50% of shots saved. Algeria never recovered from their early disadvantage. With the score at 20:12 Macedonia did another 6 goal series to decide the match with half of the second interval through. Macedonia's top shooter was Kiril Lazarow (9 goals), Algeria awarded the top-scorer crown to Omar Chehbour (6). The men from the Balkan region may thus hope for the main round while Algeria is supposed to settle with the President's Cup.
Germany - Tunisia 26:24 (12:12)
Germany had a poor start but fought hard to secure their first win in the tournament. Tunisia got quickly into the lead at 6:1. Germany changed the goalkeeper and Lichtlein's appearance marked the turning point. Yet, only when playmaker Michael Kraus, still sidelined in the first match, entered the field the Germans got their rhythm to tie at 10:10. But Tunisia fought bravely, consequently stuck to their offensive defence and took advantage of Germany's poor scoring efficiency. Aymen Hammed turned out to be Tunisia's outstanding shooter (9 goals). Yet, he also missed ten opportunities to score. With seven minutes to go before the end, the match was completely open (22:22). The Tunisians, however, were short of energy and power to allow the Germans led by powerful pivot Sebastian Preiß to break away to 26:23. When keeper Bitter spoilt a 7m the game was over, although his Tunisian counterpart showed another strong performance between the posts. Pascal Hens contributed seven goals to be the match's top scorer.
Russia - Poland 22:24 (14:11)
Outstanding Polish keeper Slawomir Szmal secured Poland's close and somewhat lucky win, their second one in the tournament. The Russians had been in the lead 55 minutes long before the 2007 Vice-champions turning the match upside down. A long time Poland was unable to come back after falling behind. A match hanging on the balance emerged in the second half when Szmal saved 18 shots, standing as firm as a rock. A three-goal series brought Poland their first lead in the match at 21:20. Russia indeed managed to equalise twice but Jurasik and Tluczynski made the difference in the last two minutes.
Group D
Brazil - Norway 21:39 (8:17)
After two matchdays Pan-American champions have already their back to the wall. Following the slap into the face in their match against Denmark, the South American side suffered another defeat to Norway. Norway's counter-attacks in particular caused the final result that was quite clear. Brazil kept the match open until 5:6 but then Norway staged a seven-goal series to prepare for their second WCh win. Shortly after changing ends the margin was 10 goals for the first time. Another 8.1 series brought Norway a trouble-free victory. Brazil's Silva and Hubner (4 goals) and Norway's Björnsen headed the top scorers' ranking.
Saudi Arabia - Egypt 18:26 (8:12)
Egypt's win over Saudi Arabia, which is still without any point, restored their self-confidence after their opening defeat to Serbia. However, the result could have been clearer. After their complete failure to Norway the Saudi team seemed to have well recovered. Egypt, however, showed a fine team work. Africa's top side rushed to 11:6 led by Egypt's Hussein Hussein, who scored 7 goals. On minute 45, the score was 19:11 and the Egyptians were home and dry. Saudi Arabia's top scorer award went to Bandar Alharbi (9 goals).
Serbia - Denmark 36:37 (22:16)
This match turned out to be the most thrilling one so far, and only in the last minute Mikkel Hansen and Lasse Boesen brought the decision by a whisker. The European champions were behind nearly all the match long and only shifted gear in the very last moment. It seemed as if Russia's top shooter Momir Illic (10 goal) and Mladen Bojinovic (8) had extended a comfortable lead for Serbia, which had already been ahead by seven goals in the first half. But the European champions scored seven goals in a row within seven minutes to tie at 30:30 for the first time. A thrilling final phase saw the lead change constantly before Denmark securing their lucky win.