Norway delivered another huge shock in the men’s competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, handing France their second loss in a row, 27:22, as the hosts and reigning Olympic champions are now facing must-win matches against Egypt, Argentina and Hungary to secure a spot in the knockout phase.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP B
France vs Norway 22:27 (11:16)

After an eight-goal loss in the opener against Denmark, the pressure was on hosts France to deliver in their second match of the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Their opponent was another Scandinavian side, Norway, but this time around, the path for France looked clearer.

Only that it was not as clear as possible. In fact, it was as murky as possible, with France producing one of the worst halves in recent memory in terms of consistency, cohesiveness and creativity, falling behind early, 2:6, as back Tobias Groendahl carried Norway around in the first 11 minutes, with three goals.

When it finally looked like France were up to something, their mistakes started to pile up and Norway duly said thank you and took advantage, whilst star left back Sander Sagosen was being rested in the second part of the first half. But it did not matter, as the second-string left back, Simen Ulstad Lyse scored three times, to add fuel to the fire.

With a stint of seven minutes and five seconds without a goal, France found themselves in a tough position, backed into a corner, being down seven goals after 24 minutes, 7:14, as coach Guillaume Gille was forced to take his second team time-out in the first half, trying to put things in order in both attack and defence.

Down five goals at the break, France finally found a rhythm, but as they tried twice to cut the gap to two goals, line player Ludovic Fabregas missed one-on-one situations with goalkeeper Kristian Saeveraas and Norway had some breathing space, leading by four goals, 19:15, with 20 minutes to go.

By that point, France right back Dika Mem had scored over 50% of his team’s goals, boasting an eight-goal tally, but the reigning Olympic champions needed more from their players in attack, yet time after time, Fabregas, wing Valentin Porte and back Remili missed clear-cut chances, enhancing the pressure felt by France, with time winding down.

Those misses proved to be crucial, as France did not find anything from Gerard between the posts, while in attack, nothing seemed to work outside of Mem, who finished the match with 10 goals. In fact, France’s attack converted only 52% of their shots, while Mem himself had an 83%, meaning that the other 11 outfield players could only muster a 40% shooting efficiency.

France scored their lowest number of goals in the last five editions of the Olympic Games at the end of the match, with Norway celebrating intensely a huge win against the reigning Olympic champions, 27:22, a truly deserved one, where left wing Alexander Blonz was his team's top scorer, with seven goals.

Norway are now tied with Denmark on the top two places in the standings, with four points each, as France will likely start thinking about clinching a quarter-finals berth rather than finishing on the top two places in the group, after conceding two losses in two matches. The next opponents will be Egypt, another tough test for France, with the reigning Olympic champions facing the prospect of elimination if they do not secure a win against the African champions.