Following two straight defeats against the Republic of Korea and Sweden, Germany were under pressure, as they needed a win to stay in contention for a quarter-final berth. They broke the ice on Tuesday, with a record-breaking win - their largest and with the largest number of goals scored at the Olympics - 41:22, against Slovenia.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP В
Germany vs Slovenia 41:22 (16:9)

Olympic debutants Slovenia, who had taken their first-ever win at this level two days earlier, when they had beaten the Republic of Korea, started the game with confidence and went in front several times. However, they were unable to pull clear by more than one goal, as the rivals basically traded goals early in the game.

But then Slovenia's Ana Gros and Barbara Lazovic got straight two-minute suspensions, and Germany started to pull clear. Between minutes 15 and 23, the Balkan side failed to score a single goal, as they had a number of turnovers and missed their shots, so the Germans created a comfortable 11:6 advantage.

Markus Gaugisch's team had suffered from below-par shot efficiency in their previous encounters, which was at just 56%, but in the first half against Slovenia, they converted 70% of their shots compared to Slovenia's 45%. And goalkeeper Katharina Filter, who boasted a 44% save rate before the break, helped her team to lead by seven goals after 30 minutes.

In the second half, Germany picked up where they had left off, starting to tear Slovenia's defence apart from the opening minute. A 3:0 run saw the Germans extend their lead to double digits, 19:9, as their rivals were unable to find their rhythm and made too many mistakes. 

Gaugisch's team now had the match fully under their control, and they did not give their opponents even the slightest hope for a comeback. In the end, the winners of this match scored nine goals from fast breaks, boasted a 75% shooting efficiency and hit the 40-goal mark, clinching a commanding victory, 41:22, the largest-win in history at the Olympics, breaking the record set against Angola, 15 goals, at Atlanta 1996. Germany also became the fifth team in history to score at least 41 goals in the women's handball competition at the Olympic Games.

As Gaugisch rotated his squad, all 12 Germany's outfield players put their names on the scoresheet, with Xenia Smits and Annika Lott becoming the best scorers with seven goals, and Julia Maidhof and Antje Dolll netting six times. At Slovenia, the experienced Ana Gros scored six times, but it did not help her team to avoid a painful defeat.