There is good and bad news to report from the Women’s Handball World Cup. Two Borussia Dortmund representatives have reached the quarter-finals while another duo can expect a last-eight appearance. But the tournament is over for one BVB player, while another can cling onto faint hopes.

Early on Saturday evening, Lisa Antl (one goal) and Sarah Wachter (four saves) helped the Germany team prematurely wrap up their place in the quarter-finals of the Handball World Cup in Scandinavia. The 31-21 triumph over Serbia was their fifth victory in five matches. The match against Denmark on Monday will determine whether national team coach Markus Gaugisch’s side qualify as group winners. The clash with the co-hosts will get under way at 20:30 CET.

Meanwhile, Japan and Haruno Sasako no longer have any hopes of qualifying for the last eight at the tournament. Their match against Romania was close for long spells, but too many mistakes over the course of the 60 minutes made the difference. The Asian outfit suffered a 32-28 defeat, with Sasaki scoring two goals. However, Japan are still in with a chance of participating in the Olympic Games, as they have already secured a place in one of the three qualifying tournaments.

Tess Lieder, who was making her 150th international appearance, and Zoë Sprengers, who was watching on from the stands, celebrated a key victory against Ukraine on Friday. Lieder made five saves (33% catch rate) during her time on the court, as the Netherlands ran out 40-21 winners. It is therefore almost certain they will be involved in the quarter-finals. Only a very heavy defeat for the Netherlands against Spain on Sunday could see them prematurely eliminated.

Spain and Carmen Campos face an uphill battle, however. Her goal could not prevent a clear defeat (30-22) against Czechia. If the 2019 runners-up want to stay in the tournament, then they must beat the Netherlands by a significant margin. But if Spain lose, then their elimination is set in stone because they lost their head-to-head battle with the Czechs.