Less than 24 hours after the first round of the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, the four teams will be at it again in the Palau d’Esports in Granollers, Spain, as there is no room for mistake for neither of them, after Spain and Slovenia won their first matches on Thursday.

Olympic Qualification Tournament #1
18:30 CET Bahrain vs Brazil

A devastating loss, 26:27 against Slovenia, which came with only three seconds to go in the match, saw Brazil’s chances for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games diminish. Nevertheless, the South American powerhouse has no time to spend lamenting it, as they face Bahrain less than 24 hours after the first match in the Palau d’Esports in Granollers.

There is now no room for mistake for any of these sides, as a loss would likely mean elimination from contention for the coveted ticket for Paris 2024, after they had previously conceded losses in the first match, with Bahrain’s chances rendered virtually zero with their 27:39 loss against Spain.

Nevertheless, while there is still a mathematical possibility, every team will go full throttle, and Brazil look to play the part of favourites, after winning their only official match against the Asian side, 37:30, at the 2011 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Brazil have also sealed a 30:28 win against Bahrain in the Golden League friendly competition in January 2024, which seems a good baseline, with added impetus for the South American side, while the Asian team will welcome back four players for this match, led by centre back Hussain Alsayyad.

No team have conceded more goals than Bahrain in the Olympic Qualification Tournaments after the first round, with the Asian side also registering the lowest percentage of converted shots in the three competitions, having scored only 51.9% of their shots.

Therefore, Brazil seem to have the upper hand, but mentally they will need to come back from that painful loss against Slovenia, with their experience helping them in that instance, even if chances look slimmer now.

21:00 CET Spain vs Slovenia

The battle between the European sides will likely yield the first team to progress to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games from this group, or at least improve a team’s chances of sealing the ticket from this Olympic Qualification Tournament in Granollers, after both have secured wins in their first matches.

A Spain team which had a lot of experience on the court, especially with the comebacks of Rodrigo Corrales and Antonio Garcia Robledo from the team which failed to make it out of the preliminary round at the EHF EURO 2024, clinched a clear win over Bahrain, 39:27, while Slovenia left it late, but mounted a spirited comeback to beat Brazil, 27:26.

A loss here would not dent any team’s chances of progression, but Spain look to be the favoured side, especially as they are playing at home, in front of their own fans, where they are difficult to beat. Moreover, in the last 13 meetings between the two sides, Spain won 10 of them, while Slovenia only secured two wins.

The latest came at the EHF EURO 2018, when Slovenia took a 31:28 win over Spain before “Los Hispanos” went on and won the trophy, while the last mutual meeting saw the hosts clinch a 31:26 win at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship in the main round in Krakow, with Spain going on to secure a bronze medal.

“We are feeling very good about this win against Bahrain and these good feelings are great for us for the two vital games we have left," said Spain’s left wing Daniel Fernandez, who was the top scorer against Bahrain and the hummel Player of the Match in Spain’s 39:27 win.

On the other hand, Slovenia escaped with a win against Brazil, in what proved to be an old-school battle between two closely balanced teams, yet coach Uros Zorman wants even more for his side.

“The team showed character against Brazil. We were behind but turned the score around and won in the last seconds. Congratulations to the boys, especially for the finish. Friday is a new day, which brings a new match. Once again, it will be necessary to "step up" with a lot of confidence,” said Zorman.

Zorman himself knows a thing or two about Spanish handball, having featured for Ciudad Real as a player between 2006 and 2009, while also serving as Talant Dujshebaev’s assistant at Kielce between 2018 and 2020.

But this time around, with such a big game ahead, that might not mean much, especially as Spain are determined to seal their 12th berth for the Olympic Games, where they won three bronze medals.