Brazil missed a huge chance to secure their seventh appearance in history and their third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, after conceding a painful loss in the final of the 2023 Pan American Games, when they were properly dominated by Argentina, 32:25, with their big South American rivals earning the ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Since then, Brazil bounced back at the 2024 South and Central American Men's Handball Championship, taking the gold medal in January 2024, with a 28:26 win against Argentina in the last match, but that loss from last autumn stinged and now the South American powerhouse have a mountain to climb if they are to progress to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Sure, Brazil have both the talent and the experience on their side, with a tried-and-tested team, as a plethora of their players are featuring regularly for European teams at club level, which helps in these kinds of high pressure environments, especially as left back Haniel Langaro is featuring for Barcelona, while line player Rogerio Moraes plays for German Bundesliga outfit MT Melsungen.

However, Brazil will be one of the underdogs in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, scheduled to be played in Granollers, Spain, where the South American team, whose best result at the Olympic Games is a seventh place on their home court, at Rio 2016, is due to face hosts Spain, Slovenia and Bahrain.

The recent matches against Spain have been quite close, with Brazil conceding a 27:28 loss at the 2017 IHF Men’s World Championship, while the battle at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship saw the two sides finish in a stalemate, 29:29. Spain did take a 32:25 win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which saw Marcus Oliveira’s side left reeling.

Indeed, the last two editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, Egypt 2021 and Poland/Sweden 2023, saw Brazil finish on the 18th and the 17th place respectively, which brings plenty of reflection for the South American side, which will need a strong outing here, in order to deliver their third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games.

Key players: Haniel Langaro (left back), Guilherme Torriani (left wing), Rudolph Hackbarth (right wing)
History at the Olympic Games: 1992: 12th, 1996: 11th, 2004: 10th, 2008: 11th, 2016: 7th, 2020: 10th 
Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 (in Granollers, Spain): Spain, Slovenia, Bahrain, Brazil