After a close first-half, the defending champions improved to win 37-28 in the Group I clash at the Wiener Stadthalle in Austria's capital Vienna.

The best performer for Spain was again goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, who saved 15 shots and was named player of the match for the third time.

The team's 37 goals, 14 of which were shared evenly between top scorers Ángel Fernández Pérez and Ferran Solé, brings them to a total of 200 for the tournament so far.

Spain's next outing is due to come on Wednesday (January 22) and will see them contest a Group I decider with fellow unbeaten side Croatia, who edged Czech Republic 22-21 today.

Already assured of a place in the semi-finals following their pulsating victory over Germany on Saturday (January 18), Croatia coach Lino Červar rested a number of his top stars and his team needed Luka Stepančić's last-gasp goal to see off a spirited Czech outfit.

The Czechs had birthday boy and player of the match Tomáš Mrkva to thank for keeping them in the game with a 35 per cent shot ratio. 

But his exploits in goal were not enough to prevent Croatia winning a sixth consecutive match at the event.

A draw against Croatia will be enough for Spain to win Group I.

Today's one other game saw Germany secure third spot in Group I, and a place in the fifth-place playoff, following a 34-22 victory over Austria.

Action at the European Men's Handball Championship is due to continue tomorrow.

The penultimate round of matches in Group II will be played at Malmö Arena in Sweden.