A solitary bronze medal in their debut appearance back in 2006 is the only reward for Spain’s eight appearances at the IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championships – and for a run of four championships (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) they were stuck in fifth place.

Could that change at China 2024?

Judging by their final ranking at the 2023 European Championships held last year in Nazare, Portugal, the answer is no – fifth again.

Despite a strong preliminary group stage which saw them win all three games, Spain could win just once in the main round before losing to Portugal in the quarter-finals and then coming back in the 5-8 placement round, defeating Ukraine and then Norway to claim a spot inside the top five.

But a few weeks later, at the 2023 European Games in Poland, it all changed with Spain taking gold in an impressive three-day spell.

Despite starting with a 0-2 loss against Norway, they went on to win their next five games, defeating Poland and Denmark in their remaining preliminary group games and seeing off Germany (quarter-final), Denmark again (semi-final) and then Hungary (final) all via shoot-out to claim the title.

This is evidence of what Spain can do and what their fans will be hoping for in China.

But last time out at the world championships, they finished in a lowly seventh-place at Greece 2022 after disappointing defeats to Uruguay (twice), Croatia and Greece, along with a quarter-final loss to Brazil – who they will face again at China 2024 in their preliminary group.

Spain remains a key factor in helping beach handball grow – their Arena Beach Handball Tour is one of the biggest in the world and numerous, large-scale competitions run throughout the country which has produced some of the best players in the world.

To prepare for China 2024, Spain used the Tour to host a friendly tournament between themselves, Portugal and Qatar. Spain opened their account with two 2:0 victories over Portugal (21:18, 26:20) and Qatar (29:24, 26:25), before Portugal got some revenge with a 2-0 win of their own (27:24, 29:28).

Qatar were then beaten again 2-0 (24:22, 18:10), but in the final the Asian champions faced Spain again and got their own revenge winning 2-1 (18:24, 22:14, SO 9:8).

Coach Juan Vázquez-Diz can rely on a mixture of experience in his team, personified by defender Elhji Toure Jabby, who was presented with a special shirt ahead of the final against Qatar in recognition of making 100 appearances for Spain, and right wing Domingo Jesus Luis Mosquera, who won Youth Olympic Games gold with Spain at Buenos Aires 2018.

Both of those players have been named as being part of the IHF Beach Handball Showcase which will take place on the fringes of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next month and who both need to have a big influence of whether their nation can climb onto the world championship podium once again.

Coach: Juan Vázquez-Diz

Key Players: Elhji Toure Jabby, Domingo Jesus Luis Mosquera

Qualification information: 2023 EHF European Beach Handball Championships – 5th

History in Tournament: 2004: DNQ, 2006: 3rd, 2008: 5th, 2010: 8th, 2012: 5th, 2014: 5th, 2016: 5th, 2018: 5th, 2022: 7th

Group at China 2024: Group B: Brazil, People’s Republic of China, Spain, Tunisia