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Spain survives for one-point handball win over No. 1 Germany

Posted at 1:46 AM, Jul 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-24 05:01:26-04

Alex Dujshebaev scored with less than a minute to play, and Spain's defense survived a sloppy final minute to win its men's handball opener 28-27 over European rival Germany, the top-ranked team in the world.

Germany led 13-12 at the half and traded the lead back and forth, then took a 27-26 lead with 2:48 to play. Dujshebaev scored the game's final two goals for the win.

In other men's Group A matches Saturday, Norway shook off an early deficit to beat Brazil 27-24, and France cruised past Argentina 33-27. 

In the Group B opener, 2021 World Championship runner-up Sweden rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit and saved a game-ending penalty to survive an upset bid by Bahrain, 32-31.