The fourth matchday of the preliminary round in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will bring more answers, in two well-balanced groups, which have produced only two of the eight teams progressing to the quarter-finals.

Hosts France have finally won a point on Wednesday, against Egypt, and face a must-win match against Argentina, while reigning world champions Denmark face Hungary, as they aim to secure their sixth win in a row.

In Group A, everything is wide open, with some answers coming in this fourth matchday, with some fantastic matches on the schedule, as the best teams in the world take the court once again in the South Paris Arena 6.

GROUP A

• 14:00 CEST Croatia vs Sweden 
• 16:00 CEST Germany vs Spain
• 19:00 CEST Japan vs Slovenia

GROUP B

• 09:00 CEST Hungary vs Denmark
• 11:00 CEST Argentina vs France
• 21:00 CEST Norway vs Egypt

Do-or-die match for France: From the six halves France played so far in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the reigning Olympic champions have won only one, against Egypt, in the last match, when they salvaged a last-gasp draw. With one draw and two losses, the moment of truth for France is the match against Argentina, where another misstep could cost them the qualification to the quarter-finals. Therefore, they will hope to bounce back and use that last-gasp goal from Ludovic Fabregas against Egypt as a morale boost, with centre back Nedim Remili acknowledging that there have been talks held between the players to try and steady the ship.

Injuries add more pressure on France: The dynamic of the France team was already lacking in the first matches, but now they were forced to make two changes in the squad, after both right wing Yanis Lenne and left wing Dylan Nahi suffered injuries against Egypt. Lenne’s Olympics are done, after the ankle sprain suffered during a fast break in the second half, while Nahi has muscular issues, which will prevent him to play against Argentina. Therefore, France have called up two of their three reserves, line player Nicolas Tournat and centre back Aymeric Minne, with Guillaume Gille having only two wings at his disposal in the 14-player roster: Valentin Porte on the right and Hugo Descat on the left.

 

 

 

 

 

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Complicated group to find some answers: In Group A, four teams are on four points, with three of them having the same goal difference, +4. Therefore, the battle for a place in the quarter-finals is tough as nails, with only one side, Japan, virtually eliminated, as they currently have zero points, conceding three losses in the first three days. If Slovenia win against the Asian side, they will have made a huge step towards qualification, while Germany and Spain, both on four points, are facing off, with the winner potentially being able to secure a quarter-finals berths. On the other hand, Croatia, which are coming after a win against Germany, will face Sweden, in a do-or-die match for the Scandinavian side.

Are Spain able to write history on Friday? No team has ever scored 2000 goals at the Olympics so far, but Spain, the team with the largest number of matches, 77, are on their way to hit that milestone. So far, they have 1961, so they need 29 goals to secure it in the match against Germany, which is, coincidentally, their average number of goals scored per match in the competition so far, 29.3. Still, “Los Hispanos” need to improve in attack, which has been a work in progress, while putting 37 goals past Japan, but they still need to be tested against a strong defence, such as Germany’s.

How will Sweden replace Gottfridsson? Centre back Jim Gottfridsson, the MVP of the EHF EURO 2018 and the EHF EURO 2022, has been suspended for one match, after the direct red card, followed by a blue card, conceded after an elbow thrown to Slovenia’s Dean Bombac in the first match. Sweden will have only 13 players at their disposal for this match, also losing right wing Daniel Pettersson to an injury. Pettersson was replaced by Jonathan Edvardsson, but it is clear that Sweden, which are already in a precarious position, will have even more issues without their star player.

Egypt’s dynamic duo to shine again? Egypt have a hugely talented squad on their hands, but two players have been outstanding in attack: right back Yahia Omar and line player Ahmed Adel. While Omar was already the All-Star right back at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Adel is somewhat of a surprise, being the best scoring line player in the competition. With a fantastic back line, Egypt now also relies on Adel, who converted 20 of the 27 shots he had, with a superb 74% shooting efficiency. The pair has worked flawlessly so far and will hope to do that again when they meet one of the two undefeated teams in the competition – Norway.

Are Norway undergoing a transformation? 38 players have scored more goals so far in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games than Sander Sagosen. The Norway left back has only eight goals scored, an average of 2.66 per match, and his shooting efficiency is 42%. Five Norwegian players have scored more than Sagosen, who was not on the court even in the most tense moments against Hungary, in Norway’s last match, a last-gasp win, their third in a row. For the last years, Norway’s problem was that they were too dependent on their star player. Now, it seems that Jonas Wille found the right balance and the Scandinavian side are on their best run at the Olympics, a three-match winning streak, before the game against Egypt.

Gidsel to gun for Hansen’s record: Mathias Gidsel was the top goal scorer at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship and the EHF EURO 2024 and the Denmark right back is on the right track to take the crown also at Paris 2024. The 2023 IHF World Male Player of the Year has scored 32 goals in the first three matches of the competition and will play at least three matches, as Denmark qualified for the quarter-finals. Currently, the player who scored the largest number of goals in a single edition of the Olympics is Gidsel’s teammate, Mikkel Hansen, with 61 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. If Denmark win their quarter-final, Gidsel has big chances to beat that record, as he holds a nine-goal lead in the top goal scorer standings over his teammate, Simon Pytlick.

Third win to bring Slovenia closer to third quarter-finals berth? This is Slovenia’s fourth appearance at the Olympic Games, and in two out of their previous three editions they made the quarter-finals. They can also qualify here, at Paris 2024, with a win against Japan being a must for Uros Zorman’s side. This will be the first time when the two teams meet in an official match, with Slovenia having the best defence in the competition, with only 78 goals conceded, while Japan have conceded 26 more, 104, the second-largest number, as it is clear that the two sides have different qualities and tempos.

Attacks to deliver once again? Only Denmark have scored in triple digits in the competition – 105 goals – but the pace of scoring has been relentless at Paris 2024, with 1055 goals scored so far in 18 matches, an average of 58.6 per match. The efficiency is also high, with the overall shooting being at 63%, as Denmark are clearly the outliers of that ranking, with an amazing 73% of their shots converted, as they are also trying quite rarely from the back line, with only 40 of their 144 shots. On the other hand, the Scandinavian side has by far the largest number of breakthroughs, 29, 12 more than any other team, courtesy of players like Gidsel and Simon Pytlick.