After a painful loss against Germany on Thursday, Slovenia opened their account in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #3, taking a clear win against Paraguay, 32:14, to set up a do-or-die clash against Montenegro on Sunday.

With wins over Slovenia and Montenegro, Germany cannot relegate on the third place, which means Markus Gaugisch is the third side to seal a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Olympic Qualification Tournament #3
Slovenia vs Paraguay 32:14 (17:9)

Slovenia’s path for their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games was quite simple: win both matches against Paraguay and Montenegro and they were through to Paris 2024, but this was way easier said than done.

Especially when facing Paraguay on Saturday, with the South American side buoyed by their excellent performance against Montenegro in the first match, a 25:30 loss, which saw the European team work until the dying minutes to secure the precious two points.

With that in mind, Slovenia pulled no punches and enjoyed a strong start, mandatory for an easier match, especially as an eight-goal win would have seen them leapfrog Montenegro on goal difference and enable Dragan Adzic’s side to have two options for Sunday’s match, either a win or a draw.

After only eight minutes and eight seconds, Paraguay’s coach, Marizza Faria, was forced to take the first team time-out, as Slovenia jumped to a clear 7:2 lead, as wings Tamara Mavsar and Alja Varagic combined for five goals, while left back Tjasa Stanko dished three assists, for a complete performance on both sides of the ball for the Slovenia team.

That team time-out really help stabilize Paraguay for a few minutes, but Slovenia were relentless and continued pushing, with seven different players on the scoresheet, with Adzic trying to tinker a bit and rest his players for the match against Montenegro. 

Nevertheless, the mission was completed at half-time for the European side, which had a nine-goal lead, 17:9, with Mavsar, Varagic and Stanko scoring 10 goals between themselves, with Paraguay’s attacking efficiency dipping to a meagre 29%.

It went from bad to worse for Paraguay, with Slovenia starting with a 5:0 run in the second half, which basically helped the European side create a strong enough lead to cruise in the second half, as Adzic gave meaningful minutes to all of his players.

As goalkeeper Maja Vojnovič saved 16 shots for a 55% saving efficiency, 10 of the 14 Slovenia outfield players scored at least one goal, with Mavsar cruising to six goals, as Paraguay totally collapsed in attack.

The South American team scored only twice in the first 22 minutes of the second half, as Slovenia sealed a 32:14 win, conceding only five goals in the second half and completing their objective, with a 18-goal win, boasting a +12 goal difference, as opposed to Montenegro's +1.

With two points, Slovenia leapfrogged Montenegro in the standings, and can now afford a draw in the last match against their European counterparts, while Paraguay finish on the last place, are out of contention and play against Germany, which are already qualified from the first place on Sunday.

hummel Player of the Match: Maja Vojnovič (Slovenia)