Olympic champion Croatia has come back from a 16-11 deficit at half-time to beat defending champion Spain, 29-28 and advance to the quarterfinals of the handball world championships in Germany.

Igor Vori led Croatia with seven goals on Sunday's final day of group play, while Mirza Dzomba added six goals. With the win, Croatia remains undefeated and clinched first place in Group 2 with a 5-0 record.

Denmark, Spain and Russia also reached the round-of-eight from Group 2 after the Danes topped the Czech Republic, 33-29 and Russia defeated edged Hungary, 26-25.

In Group 1, Poland topped the standings, followed by Germany, Iceland and France. Germany beat Iceland, 33-28, while Poland dominated Slovenia, 38-27 and France got by Tunisia, 28-26.

In Tuesday's quarterfinals, Croatia will face France, Spain plays host Germany, Denmark takes on Iceland and Russia challenges face Poland.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.