Denmark held to draw by Argentina at World Championship

Big guns France, Spain, Croatia and Sweden all posted victories but Denmark, the 2011 and 2013 finalists, were held to a surprise draw by Pan American Argentina.

The South Americans scored a dramatic late equaliser through Diego Simonet with 20 seconds left on the clock to secure a tie in a game that the Danes never looked to have control of.

In other Group D games, Germany edged Poland 29-26 to gain a degree of revenge for two defeats to their European neighbours in the play-offs to reach Qatar. Steffan Weinhold netted nine for Germany, while Krysztof Lijewski top-scored for Poland with seven.

Meanwhile, Russia eased to a comfortable 27-17 win over Saudi Arabia.

In Group A, Spain registered a 38--33 win over a resolute Belarus side and Slovenia trounced Chile 36-23. Qatar had opened the tournament a day previously with a 28-13 win over Brazil.

The Balkan nations in Group B proved their dominance early on with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Croatia all registering victories.

Bosnia, like Iran making their first appearance at the World Championship, won the battle of the debutants 30-25 while Macedonia dispatched Tunisia 33-25. Croatia, who finished third in 2013,

France started their Group C campaign on a winning note after a 30-27 scoreline against the Czech Republic, who were missing star player Filip Jicha through illness.

Sweden, who failed to reach the World Championship in 2013, returned with a bang, defeating Iceland 24-16, while Egypt saw off Algeria 34-20 in an all-African affair in Group C.

The tournament lasts just over two weeks, with the final taking place on Sunday, February 1.