Running updates of Tokyo 2020 men's Group A – follow the action of the Olympic handball tournament live and stay always up-to-date. France and Germany claimed wins in the first two matches of today, and Spain continued their winning streak against Norway.

It's round two of Group A at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 men's handball tournament, with three promising matches ahead.

Today's matches:

• 09:00 JST: Brazil vs France (29:34)
• 11:00 JST: Argentina vs Germany (25:33)
• 14:15 JST: Spain vs Norway (28:27)
   

18:30 JST That’s all from Group A. More handball? Group B is still on!

Wow, what a crazy, crazy game! Neither Spain nor Norway shocked by their efficiency in front of the goal posts, but this was a superb game, an intense, emotional roller-coaster, that provided a ton of excitement. And it shows that Spain, the most experienced team in the competition, can win close games. Twice, against strong opposition.

Plus, we have a surprise top scorer, with Adrian Figueras tying Mikkel Hansen at the top of the standings, with 15 goals each. Sagosen is now at 14, tied with Denmark’s right back Mathias Gidsel, as the race hots up.

We wrap up the Group A coverage, but we are still on with Group B, where Bahrain face Portugal and Sweden meet hosts Japan.
 

17:50 JST FINAL WHISTLE Spain vs Norway 28:27

With nine minutes to go, Spain used a 3:0 run to create a three-goal gap, 25:22. But then Alex Dujshebaev conceded a two-minute suspension after a clash with Sander Sagosen and it looked like Norway were back in the game. It took another suspension, this time awarded to Dani Sarmiento for interfering with Sander Sagosen, despite being on the bench, to really stir things up.

Yet, Norway could not take advantage, slipping in attack, with Sagosen on and off, like he has been throughout the tournament. But then, 'Los Hispanos' made two turnovers in attack and helped the Scandinavian side tie the game, 27:27, with 18 seconds to go. It was Spain’s attack and Dujshebaev passed to Figueras, who received a penalty.

Sole stepped up to take it and put it past Bergerud, to seal the 28:27 win! The curse is intact, as well as Spain’s streak against Norway, now at nine wins in a row. In fact, Spain won 18 of their last 19 games against today’s rivals, drawing only one, with the streak dating back to 1997. This has been an outstanding game, one that Berge’s side dominated for the first 38 minutes, but Spain came out unscathed, taking their second consecutive win at Tokyo 2020. The sweetest part for Spain? Both were one-goal wins.

Figueras finished the game with 10 goals for Spain, who are currently second in the group, with four points, the same as France (+11), but with a smaller goal difference, +2. The caveat is that Spain did not play against Brazil and Argentina, the team who did not record any points until now. Their next game will be against Brazil, while Norway, currently placed fourth on two points, meet Argentina on Wednesday.
 

17:30 JST The shapeshifting Spain and the plucky Norway

Diverting the attacks to the line player has been a theme for Spain at these Olympic Games, a shift from the game plan Jordi Ribera used to have at the previous tournaments. Adrian Figueras has scored eight goals already and could add more in the final 10 minutes of the game, 10 crucial minutes that will shape the outcome of the standings in Group A.

Spain’s defence is still susceptible to being broken by breakthroughs, but with Coralles between the posts (43% saving efficiency), Norway still have a wall to tear down before scoring. Spain are leading, 23:22, with 10 minutes to go, but the feeling is that this is still anybody’s game.
 

17:15 JST It’s Coralles’ world and we all live in it

Were it not for goalkeeper Rodrigo Coralles, Spain would have been already done and dusted. The latest heroics? Two one-on-one saves versus Norway’s left wing Jondal, as Spain would have gone down by three. The issue with Spain’s defence is that it is constantly permeated by Norway’s backs Sagosen and Rod, with their breakthroughs leaving Coralles helpless at times. But the Spanish goalkeeper is not one to back down easily, saving another penalty from Sagosen.

Can Alex Dujshebaev step up? He missed all three shots he took until the 39th minute. Luckily, Spain can count on Garcia Robledo and right wing Aleix Gomez to take care of the attack, while Coralles anchors the defence. In fact, this is a battle between the two goalkeepers, Coralles and Bergerud, who each have 12 saves.

But wait! There’s more. Spain take the lead for the first time, 18:17, before Coralles saves another shot. That makes three out of three against Jondal in the second half.
 

16:53 JST HALF-TIME Spain vs Norway 13:14

For a split second, it looked like Spain were back in the game, after a 3:0 run sparked by veteran Antonio Garcia Robledo helped 'Los Hispanos' tie the game at 11:11. It was a surprise, especially because the comeback came after Norway’s coach, Christian Berge, called a time-out. But Norway did not just stay still. Their top scorer in the first half, Magnus Jondal, converted another one-on-one shot with Rodrigo Coralles, helping Norway open the gap again, 14:12.

Spain really lived through Robledo’s goals, four in the first half, as the 37-year-old left back was Ribera’s joker coming into the tournament. But costly misses by Jorge Maqueda and Raul Entrerrios saw Norway take the slightest of leads at the break (14:13), with Magnus Fredriksen’s last-second shot entering the goal after the buzzer announced the end of the half.

'Los Hispanos' really live on the edge, having won the first game against Germany by a single goal. Can they do the same now? Maybe, if they improve their nine-metre line, who scored only two goals from 10 attempts, Garcia Robledo’s four goals aside.
 

16:40 JST The yo-yo effect

Whenever Spain come close, Norway bounce back. It feels like Spain are missing a beat in attack, it looks a bit slow at times, but they compensate with a better defence, two very good goalkeepers, who saved seven shots between them, and a pair of converted fast breaks that helped 'Los Hispanos' stay in the game.

Sagosen missed a penalty for Norway, but still recorded three goals so far and the Scandinavian side are back with a three-goal lead, 11:8, with 10 minutes to go in the first half. They just need to maintain the rhythm and try to eliminate some of the mistakes in attack.
 

16:30 JST There are no such things as curses, right?
 

There were some important moments in the game in the first minutes when Spain could have cut the gap to 3:2 in the fifth minute, only for Angel Fernandez to miss a one-on-one chance against Torbjorn Bergerud. The same Norwegian goalkeeper had four other saves, for a 63% saving efficiency, with Norway able to open a 6:2 lead after 10 minutes.

What’s going on with Spain? They are lacking intensity on both sides of the ball. Goalkeeper Rodrigo Coralles saved five shots, but Norway still scored six times, having three attacks more than Spain. Besides Sagosen, it is right back Harald Reinkind who is leading the show, while left wing Magnus Joendal converted two fast breaks. Norway got off to a strong start, but can they keep up?
 

16:00 JST Are Norway ready to break the curse?

Eight wins in the last eight games. Spain have thoroughly dominated Norway, who are thinking about a curse against 'Los Hispanos', having never won against them since 1997. But where would it be best to break that curse if not at the Olympic Games?

There are only 15 minutes left before the start of the game and we are just wondering how Sander Sagosen can surprise Spain? In January, at the IHF Men’s World Championship, Spain beat Norway 31:26 in a game where Sagosen was injured and could not make an impact on the outcome of the game after the 20th minute.
 

12:55 JST Quotes after Germany's win

Philipp Weber, Germany back

On the match against Argentina: “It was a tough game. The first 10 minutes was really crazy. We made too many mistakes and Argentina played very well. In the second half we played very good defence, had a good goalkeeper and could celebrate some easy goals. That was important.”

On the next game, versus France:

“Now I’m happy for the first two points. Today we will relax a little bit and in the evening we will concentrate on France. It was a hard game; a tough game. We have to play on 100% and we hope we get the next two points.”
 

 

12:45 JST Moving on to Group B for a little…

We will take a little break from Group A, with the next game starting in three hours and a half, 16:15 JST, with Spain facing Norway, in an all-European powerhouse clash. France and Germany secured clear wins against Brazil and Argentina, but they put some serious effort to win the two points, especially Germany, who needed a second half surge to earn the first win at Tokyo 2020.

But do not go anywhere, as we move over to Group B, where Denmark face Egypt at 14:15 JST. It is a rematch of the instant classic from the IHF Men’s World Championship in January, when Denmark progressed from the quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out against the Pharaohs (35:33).

We will not have one today, but Denmark, the reigning world and Olympic champions, will surely have a tough game on their hands.
 

12:30 JST FINAL WHISTLE Argentina vs Germany 25:33

No, Gensheimer’s sending off did not affect their game. Germany take their first win (33:25) at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, after a much-improved performance in the second half against Argentina. The Argentinian attack dipped and Germany duly took advantage by converting several fast breaks, with right wing Timo Kastening and left wing Marcel Schiller spearheading the way, with seven goals each. From a meagre 54% shooting efficiency at the break, Germany improved to 73%, as Argentina’s tired legs hampered the South American’s side effort.

Therefore, Argentina conceded their second loss in as many games, with the quarter-finals dream being further away than ever. Diego Simonet had a quiet second half, scoring only once, with other players trying to keep Argentina afloat, but it was too little, Germany’s experience prevailing. Especially with a vintage Andreas Wolff between the posts, as the German goalkeeper saved 12 shots for a 33% efficiency.

This was also Germany’s 28th win at the Olympic Games, just one shy of Croatia, who are fourth in the all-time standings, but still 14 away of France’s record.

Before the game Spain versus Norway , which will take place at 16:15 JST, Germany climbed to the second place in the standings, with two points, two less than leaders France, before the mutual game, which will take place on Wednesday.

Argentina dropped to the last place, with zero points, and a worse goal difference, -14, than Brazil’s -8.
 

12:15 JST Gensheimer’s jubilee ends with a red card
 

In his 200th game for the German national team, only the 21st player to reach that milestone, left wing Uwe Gensheimer has been sent off. During a penalty, he shot the ball directly in Juan Bar’s head, as the Argentinian goalkeeper saved the second penalty he faced in this game.

Gensheimer leaves the game without scoring a goal, a match to forget for the best German player in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the three-time EHF Champions League Men top scorer. Will it affect Germany? They are still leading by four goals (23:19), with 12 minutes to go.
 

12:01 JST Band of brothers

11 of Argentina’s 15 goals until the 40th minute have been scored by two pairs of brothers. Diego and Sebastian Simonet combined for seven goals, while Ignacio and Federico Pizarro added four, underlining the superb bond in the Argentinian side.

After a tough nine-minute stint in the first half, where they struggled to score goals, Argentina are back in business and are seriously threatening Germany. Remember, this is a team that won only two games at the Olympic Games, one each at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

What’s going on with Germany? Well, they could have taken this game too easily and considered Argentina a team against which they will surely win. They are probably too experienced to drop a game like this, but Germany’s attack has been firing blanks throughout the game, with costly misses and turnovers hampering their effort.

However, Alfred Gislason innovated and took out the goalkeeper to create a seven-on-six superiority on attack. This move dumbfounded Argentina, as Germany took their first three-goal lead in the game, 18:15 after 38 minutes, prompting a time-out from Argentina’s coach, Manuel Cadenas.
 

11:38 JST HALF-TIME Argentina vs Germany 13:14

This is the first time the two sides have actually met at the Olympic Games and it really is a cracker of a game. Argentina had the upper hand for the first 15 minutes, but Germany replied with a 5:0 run that really put a dent in Argentina’s hopes.

The German defence worked seamlessly, Andreas Wolff saved three shots and Argentina’s attack took a nosedive, as the South American side failed to score for eight minutes and three seconds. It showed that experience and playing the waiting game really pays off, with Germany taking a 14:13 lead at the break, after goalkeeper Juan Manuel Bar saved a penalty shot in the last second from Marcel Schiller.

However, despite all of that, the German side really need to fine tune their play, especially in attack. They will probably have the physical advantage and the depth in the second half to secure the win, but this is by no means the performance Alfred Gislason wanted from his side. Yet, this was a perfect team effort, with seven players getting on the scoresheet so far, but only one who scored three goals: Schiller.
 

11:21 JST Magical Simonet is dominating Germany
 

According to the official website of the Olympic Games, Germany won 27 games in the competition, only behind France (42), Spain (37), Sweden (36) and Croatia (29). They could leapfrog the Croatian side, but they first need to win against Argentina, a team that only won two of their 11 games played in the Olympic Games. Right now, Germany need to improve their attack, which has converted only 54% of the shots they made in the first 20 minutes.

And, probably, they need to be able to stop Diego Simonet, who scored four goals, as many as the entire German team until the 15th minute. Germany might have impressed against Spain, where they lost by only one goal in the first round (28:29), but they have not hit that level against Argentina up until the 20th minute, as they are down, 8:7.
 

11:12 JST Slow start from Germany enables Argentina’s early lead
 

This is probably not what Germany envisioned when they thought about the match against Argentina. For starters, Alfred Gislason’s side needed nearly five minutes to score the first goal, when right wing Timo Kastening put the ball in Argentina’s net. By that time, Argentina were already up 2:0 and looked in control in attack, under the wand of the superb centre back Diego Simonet.

Three German turnovers later, Argentina are still in the lead, 4:3 after 10 minutes, with two goals from Simonet, their talisman, who has now scored 10 goals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Sure, Germany are still favourites, they will probably improve their attack, but what about this superb Argentinian display? They are really leaving everything on the court.
 

10:45 JST Germany face sturdy test against Argentina

That’s the first game done and dusted, with France confirming their favourite tag to secure a clear 34:29 win against Brazil. There is another European-South American clash waiting to start (11:00 JST), as Germany need a win to erase their loss against Spain from the previous game.

Will Diego Simonet singlehandedly help Argentina once again to remain in contention, like he did against France? We need to wait just a bit and we will see what happens.
 

10:30 JST FINAL WHISTLE Brazil vs France 29:34
 

The main difference between the two sides was the attack, with France converting 76% of their shots, while Brazil was well behind, with a 57% efficiency. Right until this point, France was superb in attack, after also posting a 72% shooting efficiency in the first match, against Argentina. However, coach Guillaume Gille will definitely be happy after managing the playing time of his stars perfectly, making the exact substitutions he wanted whenever he felt like it. Freshness will be a key ingredient later in the tournament and this is precisely what Gille envisioned.

As for Brazil, well, the recipe was the same like in the previous game against Norway. They had a pretty good first half, but the sheer effort their defensive system needs is too much for these players, at least for now. They looked hammered in the last 20 minutes, as France had much fresher legs to create the advantage they needed to secure the game, with a 34:29 win.

Now it gets interesting for France, who are leading the group with four points and a +11 goal difference. They will be playing against Germany on Wednesday, boasting at least a two-point advantage against their opponents, who will be forced to win the game.

With two losses in two games, it will not get any easier for Brazil, who are scheduled to meet reigning European champions Spain on Wednesday.

Petrus sent off

There were 39 seconds still left in the game, but Thiagus Petrus, who had two suspensions in the first half, was sent off directly, for an elbow to the head of Nikola Karabatic. The French player looks fine now.
 

10:08 JST France edging for their second win in as many games

It is slowly, but surely, slipping out of Brazil’s hands right now. A flurry of turnovers from the South American side were immediately punished by France, who boast a six-goal advantage, 24:18, after 40 minutes. It is another excellent attacking display from France, who are cruising to their second win at Tokyo 2020. Line player Nicolas Tournat is especially hurting Brazil, scoring four times between the 28th and the 35th minute, being unstoppable in attack.

Sure, France had their share of mistakes, but they still managed to put 11 of their outfield players on the scoresheet, exactly like in the previous match, against Argentina. The only one missing is Luka Karabatic, but he played only in defence. France is likely to have four points after this game and this means they would be nearly through to the quarter-finals. However, three crucial games, against Spain, Germany and Norway await and those will be the real tests for Guillaume Gille’s side.
 

09:38 HALF-TIME Brazil vs France 13:16

Two turnovers from France, including one from Nikola Karabatic, were enough to set up Brazil for a superb 3:0 run that forced France’s coach, Guillaume Gille, to experiment by taking out the goalkeeper for an outfield player to create a superiority in attack. It worked, as France scored and opened a two-goal gap (13:11), with backs Haniel Langaro and Leonardo Dutra helping Brazil stay afloat, combining for six goals.

However, France exude experience and really know when to push forward and they did exactly that in the end of the first half. At his fifth Olympic Games edition, Michael Guigou scored his fourth goal of the game, his sixth of the tournament, and the 1007th in the national team, to bring France to a three-goal lead, 16:13. He will probably be substituted in the second half by Hugo Descat, so it was a great way for the 39-year-old left wing to cap off an impressive game.
 

09:25 JST Brazil’s defensive anchor is running on thin ice

France’s strong start prompted a time-out from Brazil’s coach, Marcus “Tata” Oliveira. His main focus was to change the defensive system to a more traditional 6-0 and instill some degree of calm in his side. As for France? “Continue like that, please,” said coach Guillaume Gille.

It looks to have had some effect on Brazil, with back Haniel Langaro scoring via two shots that broke the 100 km/h barrier – 105 km/h and 102 km/h, making the Brazilian back the fastest shooter in the competition after six games, tied with his teammate, Leonardo Dutra, Argentina’s Diego Simonet, Bahrain’s Hasan Alsamahiji and Portugal’s Rui Silva.

Yet, Brazil have some issues defensively. Their lynchpin, Thiagus Petrus, just served his second two-minute suspension for a foul on Nedim Remili and the next suspension will automatically result in a red card. This would surely be bad news for Brazil. Right now, the South American side are still clinging by a thread, with a superb Nikola Karabatic goal taking France to a 11:7 lead after 19 minutes.
 

09:15 JST There is no stopping France
 

The French side started the game strong, jumping to a 3:1 lead, which Brazil tied immediately. But a 3:0 unanswered run saw the gap balloon to three goals (6:3), as Ludovic Fabregas scored twice and also received two penalty shots, while Michael Guigou added two goals himself.

The Brazilian defence, sharp in the first game, is not up to par in this match, at least up until this point, with France scoring some easy goals.

There was a strong foul on Dika Mem from Thiagus Petrus, who received a two-minute suspension. There is no friendship on the court at Tokyo 2020, with the two players being teammates at club level for Barça.
 

08:45 JST Day three of Tokyo 2020 is about to start

 

 

Bon matin! Go on, snooze your alarms! Your team is already up!  

Day 3 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games starts now, with Brazil, taking on France, in a battle for survival. 

The French side looked composed and controlled the game against Argentina and will be looking to do more of the same against another South American opponent.

The next game pits Germany against Argentina, in a battle of two teams that conceded a loss in the first round. Germany are favourites, though, having won all the four matches against Argentina in history.

The jewel of the crown, the headliner of the day also comes from Group A, as Spain face Norway, with the Scandinavian side failing to win a game against their opponents since 1997. The two sides also met in the quarter-finals of the IHF Men’s World Championship in January, 26:31.

After one round, France (+6), Norway (+3) and Spain (+1) lead the standings with two points, while Germany, Brazil and Argentina are on the last three places, with zero points.

All the relevant statistics, the standings and the schedule for the men’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games tournament can be found here.

No changes in the two rosters of the first match

The games at Tokyo 2020 will be throwing off shortly, with France ready to score their second win in a row against Brazil. There will be no changes compared to the first game in the two sides, therefore we can expect more of the same for France. Ditto for Brazil, who were impressive in the first match against Norway, only to fall short in the second half, where the Scandinavian side overpowered them.