Mathias Gidsel scored nine goals for Denmark today ©Getty Images

Defending champions Denmark qualified for the main round of the International Handball Federation (IHF) World Championship in style, with a convincing 36-21 victory over Bahrain.

They were joined by Qatar, The Netherlands, Germany and Egypt while Belgium and Croatia got their first wins of the tournament.

Mathias Gidsel managed to find the net nine times for Denmark, who had 11 players on the scoresheet.

With the win, they have secured top position in Group H with a game in hand.

Qatar beat Alegria 29-24 with Jovan Gacevic and Ahmad Madadi stealing the show with seven goals each.

The Netherlands sealed their spot after getting the better of North Macedonia 34-24.

A 10-goal performance from Kay Smits rightly earned him the Player of the Match award.

Germany progressed by defeating Serbia 34-33 in a thriller while Egypt became the first team from Group G to qualify with a 30-19 win over Morocco.

Lukas Mertens and captain Johannes Golla scored seven and six goals, respectively, for Germany while Egypt depended on Hassan Kaddah’s goal scoring abilities against Morocco.

Croatia crushed the United States 40-22, while Belgium took a massive step towards the next round with a 32-29 win over Tunisia.

With Tunisia set to face Denmark next, chances of progressing to the next round looks bleak.