The early-evening clash will be a real battle between Denmark and Croatia. Ahead of this crucial match, the Balkan country is out in front, leading Group I with a one-point advantage over Olympic silver medallist Iceland and title holder Denmark.

The situation will be much clearer after this evening´s game between the two Nordic countries, Iceland and Norway. Theoretically, the fourth-placed Norwegians still have a chance of advancing to the next stage.

Instead of focusing on their decisive game, the talk from the Croatian side during the whole day was about head coach, Lino íervar.

The handball professor shocked his country with his resignation at a morning press conference: "One of the reasons is that there is a great distrust of the combination of young and older, much more experienced players in our squad." he said.

"There has also been a lack of confidence, in me, and our project for the Olympic Games in London 2012," he added.

íervar´s decision also surprised the Croatian Handball Federation. They held an emergency meeting with him immediately following his announcement, and, a few hours later, staged another press conference at which president Sandi Ř ola confirmed that the head coach would remain in position.

The Danes, on the other side, won a real thriller on Tuesday with a last-second penalty by Anders Eggert Jensen. "I had about 30 seconds to consider what to do. I tried to get my pulse down, and to select clearly which shooting tactic I should use. I was very nervous and my adrenaline got higher with the whistle of the referees. It was a very special experience and perhaps the wildest penalty I´ve ever shot," recalled the wing player.

The lucky victory has given the defending champions a really boost before their crucial game. Ulrik Wilbek´s team has it within their grasp, a victory against the Croatians means they can advance to the semi-finals.

It will be an exciting game with lots of pacey play from the Danish side. The Croatians will, once again, trust their strong and aggressive defence to stop the Scandinavian attacks. Both national teams can count on a huge amount of support, and the atmosphere will once again be tremendous in the Stadthalle, with the fans turning-up the volume even before the throw-off.