With their second win in as many days in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, hosts Spain made a huge step to their 12th appearance at the Olympic Games, taking a clear 32:22 win over Slovenia. “Los Hispanos” are now only 60 minutes away of punching their ticket to Paris 2024, before their final match on Sunday against Brazil.

Olympic Qualification Tournament #1
Spain vs Slovenia 32:22 (20:13)

For 10 minutes, it really looked like Spain were in trouble, bringing back memories from January 2024, when they failed to make it out of their preliminary round group at the EHF EURO 2024. 

Spain had no answer for Slovenia’s creative gameplay in attack, as their defence failed to really get going, while jitters in attack translated into turnovers, which hampered the hosts’ efforts. Therefore, as Slovenia took full advantage, Uros Zorman’s side was three goals up, 6:3, and it looked like Spain had a challenge on their hands.

However, it was the sheer experience of the team and calm exuded by coach Jordi Ribera on the bench which turned the match around for the bronze medallists at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. Sooner rather than later, Spain bounced back, with goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez de Vargas working wonders between the posts, as his saving efficiency grew to 43%.

While Slovenia were up 9:8 after 15 minutes, a 9:1 run for Spain basically decided the match, as right back Imanol Garciandia and left wing Angel Fernandez Perez were basically unstoppable, scoring 11 goals between them. While Aleix Gomez added three on pacy fast breaks, Spain opened up a 20:13 lead at the break, as Slovenia were left speechless and with really no answer to take something from this match.

Spain’s attack did slow down in the second half, as Jordi Ribera continued to rotate his roster, but that did not mean Slovenia were more in the game than in the first part. Once again, Perez de Vargas was immense between the posts, producing one of the finest matches in recent months, with 18 saves for a 47% saving efficiency, including two penalties.

That enough had a strong deterring effect for Slovenia, whose attacking efficiency was still lagging well behind Spain, with arguably the biggest gap being made between the posts, where Klemen Ferlin and Urban Lesjak saved only nine shots, half of Perez de Vargas’ 18 saves.

As the gap grew wider and wider – Spain had nine goals ahead with 18 minutes to go – there was nothing that Slovenia could do to turn the game around. Eventually, Spain cruised to their second double-digits win in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, 32:22, creating a +22 goal difference before the final day on Sunday.

“Los Hispanos” are the only team with four points after two matches in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, as they are primed to take a Paris 2024 berth. They can even afford to lose against Brazil and still make it, while Slovenia face a must-win test against Bahrain, with their fate out of their hands before the last round in Granollers.

hummel Player of the Match: Gonzalo Perez de Vargas (Spain)