Denmark off to bad start

France, Spain and Croatia all debuted in the tournament with wins, whilst Denmark fell to a shock defeat to Hungary.

The Danes, one of the hot favourites to lift the title, were edged out by just one point, losing 29-30 to crank up the pressure right from the outset.

France meanwhile had no such problems, although their 32-21 win over Ukraine was still not enough to see them take top spot in Group B, as Iceland demolished Australia 45-20 to set the early pace.

Spain edged Egypt 33-29 in Group D, but again the winning margin was not big enough to see them top the fledgling table. That honour went to the Czech Republic, who hammered Qatar 37-23.

Of the big four, only Croatia managed to impose themselves in the fashion expected of them, running out easy 35-22 winners over Morocco to lead Group F.

Hosts Germany had opened their account with a win, albeit a nervy one, against Brazil on Friday.