Things are unfolding fast in the men’s and women’s handball competitions at the Paris 2024, and the third matchday in the women’s competition is scheduled for Tuesday, when the two unbeaten teams – Sweden and France – aim to extend their winning streaks to three matches, as they face Denmark and Brazil respectively, in the last two matches of the day.

Norway and the Republic of Korea face off for the 10th time at the Olympics, while for Germany and Spain, this could be their last chance to improve their chances of progression to the quarter-finals.

GROUP A

• 09:00 CEST Germany vs Slovenia
• 11:00 CEST Norway vs Republic of Korea
• 21:00 CEST Sweden vs Denmark

GROUP B

• 14:00 CEST Netherlands vs Spain
• 16:00 CEST Hungary vs Angola
• 19:00 CEST France vs Brazil

Another episode of the Olympic Games classic: No teams have met in the women’s handball competition at the Olympic Games more than Norway and the Republic of Korea. In fact, the Scandinavian side and the Asian team faced off nine times, two times in the final, at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, when the Republic of Korea won each time. However, Norway secured three wins in the last four matches, plus a clear 33:23 win at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship last December, with the head-to-head record equal at the Olympic Games so far, with four wins for each side and one draw, 27:27, at London 2012.

Is Reistad fit for action? The 2023 IHF Female World Player of the Year was injured during a friendly match against France in the first week of July and has been nursing that injury since that moment. It was not an Olympic Games-ending injury for Reistad, and the left back will be back in action, having replaced Thale Rushfeldt Deila in the Norway team for the match against the Republic of Korea, missing out in the matches against Sweden and Denmark. She will link up with Nora Mørk and Stine Oftedal in Norway’s back line, adding another dimension to one of the most potent attacks in the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Another milestone for France? The reigning Olympic champions have never started an edition of the Olympic Games with three wins in a row. Not even when they won the silver medal at Rio 2016 or the Olympic title at Tokyo 2020. But now, France have the chance to secure a three-match winning streak to start the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after two convincing wins in the first two matches. France have the joint best attack, with 63 goals, and have been quite consistent, bar from the opening sequence of their matches, when both Hungary and the Netherlands took the lead. With Estelle Nze Minko shining on the court, things looks on the up for Olivier Krumbholz.

20th win for Denmark? So far, only four teams – Norway (41), the Republic of Korea (37), France (27) and Hungary (22) – have clinched at least 20 wins in the Olympic Games. Denmark, a three-time Olympic champion, could be next, as they aim to secure their second victory at Paris 2024, against Sweden. After a strong, eight-goal win against Slovenia, Denmark faltered against Norway, and will aim to bounce back in style against a team which leads Group A, with four points in two matches.

Can Sweden secure their best-ever start at the Olympics? Not only Sweden tied the number of wins secured at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016, or bettered their tally from London 2012 entirely after only two rounds at Paris 2024, they can also clinch their first three-match winning streak and their best-ever start, provided they beat Denmark. Sweden are the joint top scorers of the competition, with 63 goals, same as France, and they have been unstoppable at times, providing some excellent handball.

Last-chance saloon for Germany: The European side, returning at the Olympics for the first time since 2008, were definitely not expecting to be in this position, with losses against the Republic of Korea and Sweden after the first two matches. Lose one more, the day’s opener against Slovenia, and Germany would be as good as out, as their opponents would be on four points, and hold the tie-breaker, with Korea not far away. Therefore, Germany are facing a must-win situation and need to improve their overall shooting efficiency, currently at 56%, the second lowest in the competition.

Are Spain going to improve before it is too late? An overall shooting efficiency of 45% and only 39 goals scored – just five less than the Netherlands scored in a single match, against Angola – make Spain the least efficient team in attack. One can simply not think about progressing in this fashion, and with two losses in two matches, Tuesday’s showdown against the Netherlands becomes crucial. Ambros Martin’s side needs more clarity and better rhythm in attack, after failing in the second half against both Brazil and Angola.

Who will win the battle of the youngest teams at Paris 2024? Hungary (26.1 years old) and Angola (26.5 years old) are the two teams with the lowest average age in their rosters at Paris 2024. By comparison, Norway’s line-up for the first two matches had an average age of 32.9 years old, nearly seven years older than Hungary. At points, both Hungary and Angola, which have two points before the third round in the group, have shown that lack of experience, but they also displayed flashes of brilliance, like in Hungary’s win against Brazil, when Petra Simon scored the decider in the last second.

Will the average number of goals scored per match improve? At Tokyo 2020, the 12 teams combined for 57.26 goals per match, the largest number scored in the history of the Olympic Games in the women’s handball competition. This time around, that average dropped to 52.92 goals per match, somehow on par with what happened at Rio 2016, where there were 52.06 goals scored per match. Despite attacks becoming more and more skilled, defences have adapted and this is one of the reasons why the number of goals dropped, with nearly every team providing at least one excellent defensive display so far in the South Paris Arena 6.

The battle for the top goal scorer title: 19 players have scored at least 10 goals in the women’s competition at Paris 2024 so far, therefore the battle for the top goal scorer standings is still as wide open as ever. Dutch right wing Angela Malestein leads the standings, with 15 goals, followed closely by Angola’s Vilma Nenganga, with 13 goals. Two other Dutch players, backs Dione Housheer and Estavana Polman (12 goals) are tied on the third place in the top goal scorer standings, with everything still well-balanced and wide open.