In a dramatic match, played in the presence of the IOC President, Dr Thomas Bach, Germany trailed for most of the regular time in the quarter-final against France, tied the score in the last second of regular time, than proceeded to take a 35:34 win, securing a place in the semi-finals and ending Nikola Karabatic's career.

Hosts France will finish the Olympics without a medal for the first time since Athens 2004, and will finish the competition with only two wins in six matches. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES 
QUARTER-FINALS
Germany vs France 35:34 a.e.t (14:17, 29:29)

While the French women's team were seen as strong favourites in their quarter-final match against Germany, and they won 26:23, there was many more questions about the men's home side, who had taken only the fourth place in Group B at the preliminary round and were tested by Germany, who had won Group A and boasted the second-best attack in the competition, with 162 goals in five matches.

Early in the match, the Germans were the first to open up a two-goal lead, 4:2, but powered by Dika Mem's goals and assists as Vincent Gerard's saves, France hit back to pull in front 12:8 midway through the first half.

Supported by the sold-out Stade Pierre-Mauroy, France could rely on a free-flowing attack, and Gerard boasted as many as 12 saves in the opening 30 minutes, while his German colleague Andreas Wolff did not shine between the posts. However, when he was replaced by David Späth, Germany's goalkeeping improved a lot, and after trailing by five goals on a couple of occasions, Alfred Gislason's team cut the deficit to three at the break.

While it gave them hope for a comeback, France opened the second half with a 3:0 run, propelled by Eloim Prandi, and extended the gap to 20:14. But a number of their turnovers in the following minutes helped the Germans to hit back, as they reduced the deficit to just two goals, 19:21.

Germany gained momentum and continued to push forward, while their rivals seemed to run out of steam. Späth continued to deliver saves – he made 14 in total for a 39% saving efficiency – while his teammates did well in counterattacks. Nearly 10 minutes from full-time, Sebastian Heymann scored from a fast break to give the German side a long-awaited lead, 26:25.

But the French had Gerard in goal, who finished the match with 24 saves and a 42% efficiency. His heroics combined with Hugo Descat's goals were one of the main factors that helped France to regain the initiative. 

Following a 3:0 run, the home side were in front 28:26, and then 29:27 with less than a minute to go in a regular time, but Germany turned the tide again. Renars Uscins cut the deficit 13 seconds from the buzzer. France took a team time-out with six seconds left, but Dika Mem misplaced a pass, Germany came back and tied at the buzzer, with another goal from Uscins.

In the additional 10 minutes, neither side could create more than a one-goal lead, so each shot or save might prove crucial. And while Descat and Mem increased their tally to 10 and eight goals respectively, it was the Germans which said the last word in this thrilling match.

With four seconds to go, Uscins' 14th goal gave his team a 35:34 lead, and while France hastily tried to avoid a defeat, Valentin Porte's shot was saved by Späth. So the Germans jumped for joy, and it was a sad farewell for Nikola Karabatic, who ended his career following this defeat.