Germany returned to the final of the men’s handball competition at the Olympic Games for the first time since Athens 2004, with a hard-fought win in the first semi-final of the competition, 25:24, against Spain, in a roller-coaster match, full of twists and turns, which saw Spain concede their fifth loss in the semi-finals of the Olympics.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES
SEMI-FINAL
Germany vs Spain 25:24 (12:12)

Spain were in the Olympics semi-finals four times already and lost every match, therefore a win against Germany would have seen this iteration of “Los Hispanos” write history. But between them and the berth for the final on Sunday stood Germany, the joint-best attack at Paris 2024, with 197 goals, same as Alfred Gislason’s side.

The two teams had already met in the preliminary round and Germany took a narrow 33:31 win, with the lead changing sides throughout the whole match, and eventually Spain falling apart in the attack in the last minutes to hand Germany the win and the two points which saw them secure the first place in the group.

This time, though, it was different. Germany enjoyed a fantastic 3:0 start, closing shop in defence thanks to Andreas Wolff’s saves, while Spain finally broke their duck after six minutes and 15 seconds in the match, with a goal scored by right wing Kauldi Odriozola. Usually, such a start would be enough for Germany to dictate the rhythm. But somehow, Spain found some unearthed grit to make the game tighter.

Wolff continued to deliver a fantastic performance, saving six of the first nine shots from Spain, for a 67% saving efficiency. But then, Spain started sapping into Germany’s lead, constantly threatening their opponent’s position, with left wing Daniel Fernandez enjoying a fantastic match, with five of Spain’s first 16 goals.

But Germany used another 3:0 run, despite their top scorer in the competition, right back Renars Uscins, failing to score a goal in the first half. But as Germany led by three goals in the 23rd minute, Spain used a 4:1 run to tie the score at the break, 12:12, and give their oponents a serious fight on their hands.

Once again, Spain were dominated in the start of the second half, creating another three-goal lead, 17:14, as Uscins finally got his streak going, scoring five goals in 11 minutes in the second half, taking over the first place in the top goal scorer standings, with a 48-goal tally.

But the never-say-die attitude of Spain helped them once again. With 14 minutes left on the clock, their defence helped them once again, limiting Germany, and suddenly, the two teams were tied, 20:20, as Wolff could not make the same impact, conceding some goals from Ian Tarrafeta and Agustin Casado, who had combined for seven goals at that point.

The match was always going to be decided, then, by close margins and when Spain finally took the lead for the first time, 23:22, after 50 minutes, it looked like the pendulum shifted and the momentum was with “Los Hispanos”, especially as right wing Aleix Gomez scored two goals in a row, while Uscins missed a penalty.

But both sides knew what it takes to win from behind at Paris 2024, as Germany mounted a comeback against France in the quarter-finals, while Spain erased a four-goal deficit midway in the second half against Egypt to seal their semi-finals tickets.

That meant that the final minutes of the match were going to be fiery and Germany took once again the initiative, when Spain had two chances to go two goals ahead, but Wolff denied line player Javier Rodriguez in one-on-one situations and again Abel Serdio with his 20th save of the match, helping Germany stay in the hunt.

And then Wolff stopped Alex Dujshebaev with 111 seconds left, in another one-on-one situation, which proved to be decisive in handing Germany the win. Spain failed to score for the last seven minutes and nine seconds of the match, Germany defended superbly in the closing stages, and emerged victorious, thanks to Wolff’s monster performance, with 22 saves and a 49% saving efficiency.

Spain have now lost their fifth Olympics semi-final, while Germany return to the last act of the Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years, winning their sixth out of seven matches at Paris 2024, celebrating wildly on the court as the final buzzer sounded.