Since emerging as a powerhouse in the 2010s, the Netherlands have been constantly one of the best teams in the world, a status confirmed by the title secured at the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship, when the European side delivered a vintage performance under the guidance of French coach Emmanuel Mayonnade.

From that moment onwards, the Dutch side has made a step back, finishing on the sixth place at both the EHF EURO 2020 and the EHF EURO 2022, plus the ninth place at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and the sixth place at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship.

However, they have been constantly in the running for a medal and delivered good performances in the past competitions, aiming to finally complete their medal cabinet – filled at the IHF Women’s World Champiosnhip and at the EHF EURO – with one at the Olympics, with experienced players entering the squad for Paris 2024.

Netherlands still have a strong core, despite a plethora of crucial players retiring from the national team, like Nycke Groot and Yvette Broch. Still, with stalwarts like Estavana Polman, who came back after being sidelined most of the past season with an injury, Lois Abbingh, Angela Malestein or Kelly Dulfer, the Dutch side still has plenty of firepower.

On the other hand, younger players like Kim Molenaar, Zoe Sprengers and Nikita van der Vliet will make their debut at the Olympics for Netherlands, with coach Per Johansson promoting some of the players which delivered excellent performances in the younger age categories for the Dutch side, emerging from their state-of-the-art HandbalAcademie.

But how did the Dutch side secure the ticket to Paris 2024? The Netherlands clinched the first place in the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Spain, back in April, with three wins: 34:22 against Argentina, 32:18 against Czechia and 27:26 against Spain, punching their ticket from the first two matches and delivering a good defensive performance against Spain to celebrate a sweep.

Spain will also be one of the opponents of the Netherlands in the preliminary round at Paris 2024, alongside two other European teams – Hungary and hosts France – which will make it a difficult path towards the top three in this group.

The other opponents will be Brazil and Angola, two other difficult opponents, yet Johansson’s side might prove to be a tough nut to crack, as in the previous competitions, having won a friendly match against the Republic of Korea, 26:24, with one week to go before the start of the competition.

Netherlands

Coach: Per Johansson

Key Players: Estavana Polman (centre back), Yara ten Holte (goalkeeper), Lois Abbingh (left back)

Qualification for Paris 2024: Olympic Qualification Tournament #2: 1st place

Previous appearances: 2016: 4th, 2020: 5th  

Group at Paris 2024: Group B: Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, France, Brazil, Angola