Slovenia have qualified for the Olympic Games only three times in their history, finishing eighth at Sydney 2000, 11th at Athens 2004 and sixth at Rio 2016. Now, the European side will aim to make it to the final tournament for the fourth time, being earmarked as one of the favourites in the Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 in Granollers, Spain.

Since coach Uros Zorman took over in 2022, Slovenia have rose to the challenge in the past competitions, finishing 10th at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship and sixth at the EHF EURO 2024, being a tough nut to crack at times, especially as their defence has become stronger and stronger.

The main strength of the team is their experience, with Slovenia boasting a clear core of experienced players, of the likes of right back Jure Dolenec, right wing Gašper Marguč or centre backs Miha Zarabec and Dean Bombac, which have their last chance to feature at the Olympic Games.

On the other hand, Slovenia also have an interesting new wave of players, who are just hitting their prime and constantly perform well, like left back Aleks Vlah – their top scorer at the EHF EURO 2024 – and right wing Blaz Janc, who will be making his return after missing the European top competition due to an injury.

"Everyone who is on the extended list of players nominated for the Olympic Qualification Tournament is there because they have quality and not because of anything else. The names of the players have not changed much since the last campaign. We can be happy about the return of Janc and Matej Gaber, who were injured earlier this year,"  said coach  Uroš Zorman.

Slovenia have made it to the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Granollers as the 10th best ranked team at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship and, therefore, have been allocated to the Olympic Qualification Tournament 1, in Granollers, Spain, where they are due to face the hosts, Bahrain and Brazil.

The European side has won all their matches against Brazil, including a 31:28 win at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and will face Bahrain for the first time in their history, as they will be favoured in that match.

If they finish on the top two places, Slovenia will return to the Olympic Games for the first time since Rio 2016, when they secured their best-ever finish, the sixth place, with a clear aim for Zorman and this team to maximise this potential.

Key players: Jure Dolenec (right back), Blaz Janc (right wing), Dean Bombac (centre back)
History at the Olympic Games: 2000: 8th, 2004: 11th, 2016: 6th
Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 (in Granollers, Spain): Spain, Slovenia, Bahrain, Brazil