Two more quarter-finals berths – the final two – are set to be awarded on the last day of the preliminary round in the women’s handball competition at the South Paris Arena 6, as we will bid goodbye to four teams after Saturday’s matches.

The final standings will also be known, with the quarter-finals pairings set, with only one team knowing exactly their place – hosts France – who have already secured the first place in Group B.

GROUP A

• 16:00 CEST Slovenia vs Sweden
• 19:00 CEST Norway vs Germany
• 21:00 CEST Denmark vs Republic of Korea

GROUP B

• 09:00 CEST Hungary vs Netherlands
• 11:00 CEST Spain vs France
• 14:00 CEST Brazil vs Angola

Three matches for a quarter-finals berth: In Group A, three teams have qualified for the quarter-finals and are all on six points – Norway, Sweden and Denmark. They all aim for first place in the standings, with Norway sealing it with a win, only if they do not finish on the same number of points with Sweden. But the main battle will be for the fourth quarter-finals berth, between Germany, the Republic of Korea and Slovenia. The three sides are tied on two points, and Germany are currently on that fourth place, securing safe passage to the next phase if they finish with a larger number of points, in a three-way tie with Slovenia or Korea, or at the same number of points with Slovenia. A tie with Korea would go into the Asian side’s way, thanks to their win on the first matchday.

Brazil vs Angola for a place in the quarter-finals: It cannot get bigger than this. Three teams are into the quarter-finals and one is out from contention in Group B, with the other two, Brazil and Angola, vying for a place in the next phase. This is a do-or-die match for the fourth quarter-finals ticket, with Angola holding the upper hand, as they have three points, while Brazil come into the match with a three-game losing streak, after their 29:18 win in the first match against Spain. Therefore, Brazil face a must-win match, while Angola can settle for a draw, in a battle to reach the last quarter-finals ticket at Paris 2024 from this group. The two sides met three times in major international competitions, with Brazil winning each time at the Olympics, 29:26 at London 2012 and 28:24 at Rio 2016, while Angola took a 30:23 win at the 1997 IHF Men’s World Championship.

France to write another bit of history? Since the introduction of the current format of the handball competitions at the Olympics, with two groups of six teams each, at Beijing 2008, only three teams have secured five wins out of five matches. Norway did it twice, at Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020, while Russia started with a five-match winning run at Rio 2016. Each time, that team won a medal. France can join them at Paris 2024, provided they win the last match of the preliminary round against Spain, having already clinched first place in Group B, after a four-match winning run. The hosts will be overwhelming favourites, against a side that have lost all their matches so far.

30th win for France at the Olympics? Playing in the early session, at 11:00 CEST, just like the men’s team on Friday, the hosts will surely be supported in droves by the home public, which has filled the stands of the South Paris Arena 6 in the first eight days of competition. They could be witnesses to another piece of history written by France, the third team in history to secure 30 wins at the Olympic Games. Currently, Norway lead that table, with 43 wins, followed by the Republic of Korea, with 37 wins. France started the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with 25 wins and are now on 29 wins, with another victory against Spain bringing them to the 30th win in history.

A head-to-head battle for the second place in Group B: The Netherlands and Hungary have both lost one match so far at Paris 2024 and are qualified for the quarter-finals, but the Dutch side have a one-point lead in the standings before the mutual meeting, which will decide the place where both sides end at the end of Group B. Therefore, the Netherlands can afford a draw in this match, as they cannot go higher than the second place or lower than the third. They have also won three of the four matches played at major international competitions, including a 28:24 win at the EHF EURO 2020 and a 28:25 win at the EHF EURO 2018, therefore two very well-balanced matches.

 

 

 

 

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A vintage battle in Group A: Denmark and the Republic of Korea have met five times in history at the Olympics, including in two finals, at Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004. Each time, Denmark won the matches, 37:33 in the first head-to-head one, and 38:36 win the second one, providing hugely interesting battles between the two sides. In total, Denmark have three wins, one match ended in a draw and the last one between the two sides, at London 2012, saw Korea take a 25:24 win. It is a do-or-die match for the Asian champions, which need a win to keep their hopes alive, but Denmark will also try to secure a win to finish as high as possible in the group, with a possible placement between the first and the third places before the start of the last round.

Can Norway celebrate a win in their 50th match at the Olympics? Only the Republic of Korea have played more matches at the Olympic Games than Norway and at Paris 2024, the Scandinavian side will feature for the 50th time on the court. They have won 36 of those matches, secured seven medals, and are the most decorated team in history, in terms of the number of medals won. That performance can be improved at Paris 2024, where the European powerhouse has shaken off a slow start – a loss against Sweden – to create a three-match winning streak entering the last match of the preliminary round, against Germany.

Top defences at work: Building their success on a fantastic defence in the last years, Norway and Denmark are the only sides to have conceded less than 100 goals in the first four matches at Paris 2024. Norway are the best in that respect, with only 92 goals conceded, followed by Denmark, which have conceded 96 goals. Denmark also have the player who has blocked the largest number of shots, seven, Line Haugsted, the central defender, while Norway have the best goalkeeper in Katrine Lunde, with an outstanding 43% saving efficiency.

A tough battle for the top goal scorer title: Between the first place in the top goal scorer standings, currently held by Angela Malestein, the Dutch right wing, and Angola’s centre back, Vilma Nenganga, with 23 goals, and the 10th place, where Hungary’s left back Csenge Kuczora is, there are only five goals. Therefore, it will be a highly well-balanced race for the top goal scorer title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with plenty of stalwarts, like Dutch backs Lois Abbingh and Dione Housheer, Sweden’s right wing Nathalie Hagman, or France’s Tamara Horacek being in the race, one which will probably be decided come the final of the women’s handball competition, in Lille, on 10 August.

Which team have the best attacks? Surprisingly, it is not Norway, but France who scored the largest number of goals. As Estelle Nze Minko mentioned in an interview for ihf.info, France have spent over a year developing their attack, after conceding a loss in the final of the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship against Norway. They scored 127 goals at Paris 2024, five more than the Netherlands and 17 more than Norway, becoming a complete team.