A strong outing in the first half, where Germany scored their largest number of goals in the the first 30 minutes in a match at the Olympic Games, was enough to see the European side past Japan, 36:27.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Japan vs Germany 26:37 (10:21)

The two teams met in a friendly match before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Germany won by 10 goals, but this did never look like an easy match on paper for the European side, especially after Japan conceded a loss in the first match against Croatia, 29:30, after delivering a fantastic performance, only to concede the loss in the last seconds of the match.

Therefore, Germany were in the know, and had a minus, as after Tim Hornke’s injury against Sweden, they would have to play without a proper right wing, with Hornke being the only natural on that position from the 17-player roster selected by coach Alfred Gislason.

Yet Germany delivered a virtually flawless first half, from top to bottom. The European powerhouse had never scored more than 18 goals in the first half at the Olympic Games, but they put 21 past Japan, as their first 15 goals were scored by three players – right back Renars Uscins, centre back Juri Knorr and left wing Lukas Mertens.

Germany started with a 4:0 run, which morphed into a seven-goal lead, 10:3, as the three players delivered some fantastic moments in attack, while goalkeeper Andreas Wolff did his usual magic between the posts, with seven saves, for a 41% saving efficiency, as he improved his overall tally in the competition to 20 saves.

Uscins finished the first half, where Germany led by 11 goals, 21:10, with seven goals, and never featured in the second half, as Wolff was also rested by coach Gislason, which Knorr only entering sporadically on the court in the second part of the match.

While the top scorer of Japan in the first match, Kosuke Yasuhira, scored only two goals, the Asian side relied on another centre back, Naoki Fujisaka, who had six goals, but Japan could not really mount a comeback, despite Germany using players that did not feature too much in the first half, when they secured the win.

Eventually, Germany clinched a 37:26 win, one of their biggest in history at the Olympic Games, and their largest since Rio 2016, when they clinched a 34:22 win against Qatar in the quarter-finals. 

After wins against Sweden and Japan, Germany are now on four points, and have big chances for a place in the quarter-finals, while Japan are due to face Spain, Slovenia and Sweden in the next matches, which become must-wins for the Asian side.