The Croats did what was needed - no more - and took the third straight victory in the middle round via 22-21 against the Czech Republic.
A little later in the Wiener Stadthalle it was not near a Spanish breakthrough against Belarus, but the Spaniards had to work for the victory. The lead in the match commuted long back and forth and only at the beginning of the second half did Spain gain a huge takeover, 25-20. Then it ran to Spanish nine-goal victory, 37-28.
Ángel Fernández Pérez and Ferran Solé thumped seven balls each, Jorge Maqueda scored six of the goals while Alex Dujsjebajev and Aleix Gómez received five balls each.
Who wins the group will be decided on Wednesday, when Spain and Croatia meet. A match that is most about not having to face Norway in the semi-finals. Then it carries off to Sweden and matches for the medals.
If both are good, it could be a return meeting in the European Championship finals in Stockholm on Sunday.