Croatia were the favourites for their last eight tie at Tofurdo in Szombathely, with Spain having had to come through a play-off to reach this stage.

They were surprised when Spain took a three-goal advantage into half-time in the match.

The deficit remained into the final quarter of the contest, when two missed penalties cost Spain dearly as Croatia emerged as 10-6 winners.

Serbia booked their place in the semi-finals after they saw off the challenge of Italy.

The Serbian team stormed into a 5-0 lead early in the encounter.

Italian attempted to fight back but ultimately fell to a 9-6 defeat.

An all-European semi-final line-up was assured when Greece ended Australia’s challenge at the tournament.

The Greek team emerged as 11-8 winners in the tie.

Host Hungary will meet Montenegro in the late match to complete the semi-final fixtures.