Granollers, Hanover and Tatabanya are the three venues for the Paris 2024 Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments, with six of the 12 sides sealing their tickets at the end of the three tournaments on Sunday.

Over 11,000 fans are expected at the ZAG-Arena in Hanover, Germany as three European sides plus Algeria do battle for one of the two Paris 2024 Olympic Games spots available at Olympic Qualification Tournament #2.

One of the venues of last year’s IHF Men’s Junior World Championship welcomes the four nations who have all appeared at an Olympic Games previously, with Austria having only appeared at the 1936 edition when the sport was played outdoors.

The Olympic Qualification Tournament #3 in Tatabanya already brings a huge clash between Norway and Portugal to the table, an outstanding clash before hosts Hungary face Tunisia.

Olympic Qualification Tournament #1 (in Granollers, Spain)

18:30 CET Spain vs Bahrain

One of the most consistent teams in the past years, Spain are finding themselves in uncharted waters, after finishing 13th at the EHF EURO 2024, being eliminated from the preliminary round for the first time in history, with their sixth consecutive semi-finals running streak in the European competition being ended in Germany.

With an aging core, which saw some new players ushered in to replace several stars which announced their retirement, Spain must bounce back if they are to clinch their 12th appearance at the Olympic Games, where they secured the bronze medal four times in six appearances since Atlanta 1996 onwards.

After an underwhelming experience at the EHF EURO 2024, where they finished on the 13th place, Spain will be looking to improve their fortunes, with several changes made by coach Jordi Ribera to the 19-player squad announced late February, including the comebacks of experienced stalwarts like Gedeón Guardiola, Rodrigo Corrales and Antonio García Robledo.

“These are going to be three difficult games, because every team aims to be in the Olympic Games, they are waiting because it is a great opportunity for everyone. I hope that playing at home, in a great venue like the Palau d'Esports de Granollers, allows us to have a great atmosphere, supporting the team, because we are going to need all the support," said coach Jordi Ribera.

On the other hand, Bahrain will miss several key players, which showed extremely disrespectful behaviour towards the referees of the semi-final against Japan at the 2024 AHF Asian Men’s Championship in January. Therefore, key centre back Hussain Alsayyad received a 12-month suspension from participating in any national and international competitions. Ali Merza, Mohamed Habib, Mohammed Merza and Mohammed Husain were also hit with suspensions and will not feature in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1.

“Los Hispanos” also look the most experienced team in the mix in Granollers, having the head-to-head avantage over Bahrain, with two wins in two matches in the last 13 years at the IHF Men’s World Championship, 33:22 at Sweden 2011 and 33:23 at Denmark/Germany 2019.

21:00 CET Slovenia vs Brazil

Brazil missed a huge chance to secure their seventh appearance in history and their third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, after conceding a painful loss in the final of the 2023 Pan American Games, when they were properly dominated by Argentina, 32:25, with their big South American rivals earning the ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Since then, Brazil bounced back at the 2024 South and Central American Men's Handball Championship, taking the gold medal in January 2024, with a 28:26 win against Argentina in the last match, but that loss from last autumn stinged and now the South American powerhouse have a mountain to climb if they are to progress to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Therefore, to keep their streak of appearances at the Olympic Games alive, Brazil must finish on one of the top two places in Granollers, but will face serious competition from Spain, Bahrain and Slovenia, with the latter team being the first opponent for the South American side in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #1.

Brazil and Slovenia have met three times in major international competitions, with Slovenia taking three wins, 30:27 at the 2003 IHF Men’s World Championship, 35:32 at the 2015 IHF Men’s World Championship and 31:28 at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"If someone is not motivated now, then they never will be. Of course, the nervousness and pressure are increasing, but we play for such matches. An appearance at the Olympic Games represents beautiful moments in a career," said Slovenia’s right back, Jure Dolenec.

From the team which finished fifth at the EHF EURO 2024, Slovenia bring back most of the core, but also can rely on star right wing Blaz Janc, who is back in shape after an injury which sidelined him for the European premium competition.

Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 – Hanover (Germany)

17:45 CET Germany vs Algeria

Germany will play at home on the crest of a EHF EURO 2024 wave, although one tinged with disappointment after finishing fourth, having played at home in front of 53,000 fans in Düsseldorf and over 15,000 fans in Berlin and Cologne.

Their squad is littered throughout with talent, not least IHF Male Player of the Year nominee Andreas Wolff and IHF Young Male Player of the Year nominees Juri Knorr and Nils Lichtlein.

Led by one of two Icelanders coaching in this tournament, Alfred Gislason, he will hope to lead the Germans through to their third, successive Olympic appearance following bronze at Rio 2016 and sixth at Tokyo 2020.

And the mixture of experience and winners of the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in the squad has Wolff excited.

“It's more or less a project based or focused on the future,” he said. “We have almost no players that are closer to the end than to the beginning of their career. I really hope that with this team and these kinds of talents we can finally develop a team is able to fight seriously for medals.”

Germany face Algeria in their opening match with the African side looking to qualify for their first Olympics since 1996. “Algeria are traditionally a strong team, just second behind Egypt, and Egypt, for me, are one of the top teams in the world right now,” said Wolff about their opening day opponents. “They will be no pushovers.”

Algeria will look to a number of European-based players to guide them through, most notably right back Ayyoub Abdi, who will play for HBC Nantes later this year.

Germany qualified for the tournament by finishing in fifth at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, while Algeria’s silver medal at the 2024 CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship saw them book their place.

20:15 CET Croatia vs Austria

Joining Gislason as the other Icelandic coach in Hanover is Dagur Sigurdsson, recently installed as the first non-Croatian in charge of their men’s team.

Arguably, this is a decider of one of the teams to go through in the group, with Austria likely to target this match as winnable following their recent, historic EHF EURO 2024 campaign which saw them draw with Croatia – as well as Spain and Germany – in games which they could have won.

Croatia made changes after that EURO, their 11th place their worst rank in two decades (2002), bringing in Sigurdsson, who had been in Japan with the national team ahead of, during and post (2017-2024) their hosting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

"I was looking for a challenge and an adventure, something with passion and everything came together,” said Sigurdsson when he was unveiled in his new role.  This is definitely a big challenge for me. We have a lot of work to do, but I think I'll do a good job.”

Sigurdsson will feel at home in Germany, having coached Füchse Berlin from 2009-2015 and winning gold with them at  the EHF EURO 2016 and Rio 2016 bronze but was dealt a late injury blow when goalkeeper Filip Ivić dropped out of due to an eye injury, replaced by Kristian Pilipović.

Ales Pajovic’s Austria have seen some rapid improvement in recent years, with those EURO draws highlighting their fighting spirit and underdog status.

Germany-based Nikola Bilyk, along with line player Tobias Wagner will prove crucial if they are to make history and qualify for their first-ever indoor Olympic Games event.

The two teams have met 16 times previously with Austria winning just once, but that 28:28 draw at the EURO just a few months ago will give them confidence.

“We are focused on ourselves, have trained well and are well prepared,” said Pajovič to oehb.at this week. “The focus now is on the first game. The boys are fit, ready and highly motivated. The mood and hype from the EURO are still there.

“The key to success is our defence, for that we need good goalkeeping and in attack we have to play patiently until we get a chance.”

Croatia, who have two Olympic golds (2004, 2008) to their name, qualified for the tournament due to their ninth-place finish at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, while Austria’s eighth spot at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 – their best ever – saw them through.

Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament 3 – in Tatabánya (Hungary)

18:30 CET Norway vs Portugal

With three strong European sides and a plucky underdog in Tunisia vying for the two qualifying places in Tatabánya, there is no room for mistake by the four sides which are striving to progress to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #3, the most balanced between the three taking place at the end of this week.

Norway made the final at the 2017 and 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship, securing the silver medal each time, and doubled down on that excellent run of form by sealing the bronze medal at the EHF EURO 2020. Since then, though, the Scandinavian side failed to get their rhythm going and finished sixth at Egypt 2021 and Poland/Sweden 2023, as well as ninth at the EHF EURO 2024.

Something has been missing for Norway in these major international competitions, with the Scandinavian side also finishing on a disappointing seventh place in their return at the Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020, as Norway made their first appearance since finishing ninth at Munich 1972.

Now, Jonas Wille’s side is eager to secure their Paris 2024 Olympic Games ticket, which would mark the first time when Norway make back-to-back appearances at the Olympic Games, but the team which earned their place in the Olympic Qualification Tournament by securing the sixth place at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship face a daunting challenge.

On the other hand, Portugal are eager to seal back-to-back appearances at the Olympic Games themselves, after making their debut in the competition at Tokyo 2020, after progressing dramatically from another Olympic Qualification Tournament, with a last-gasp win against France.

“The future for us is to think about the present and the present no longer has anything to do with this game. In recent years, we have played Norway four times and only won once. Therefore, we have to focus and play another exceptional game again, like the one we did at EHF Euro 2024, because Norway will prepare in a different way and are a rival to be feared by everyone, not just Portugal. It is a candidate for the Olympic Games that we will face tomorrow and we have to be completely focused, without thinking too much about what happened in the recent past,” said Portugal’s coach, Paulo Pereira.

Norway will have some key absences, with backs Magnus Abelvik Rød and Gøran Søgard Johannessen injured and out for the competition in Tatabanya, but they can still rely on a strong core, with Sander Sagosen, Torbjørn Sittrup Bergerud or Kristian Bjørnsen in Jonas Wille’s team.

In the past four years, Portugal have played three times against Norway, losing twice, including by a single goal, 28:29, at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship. They avenged those losses at the EHF EURO 2024, when they took a clear 37:32 win, helping themselves on the way to the Olympic Qualification Tournament. 

21:00 CET Hungary vs Tunisia

Hungary have made the top-10 at the last nine editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship they took part in and the side looks to be on the up, especially after Chema Rodriguez took over the team after an early elimination at the EHF EURO 2022, when the European side played on their home court, but ended up on the 15th place.

The ascension has been well documented, with Hungary finishing on the fifth place at Egypt 2021 and doubling down on their form at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, where they were eighth, after failing to secure a win in their last three matches. But that was enough to seal a ticket to the Olympic Qualification Tournaments, with Hungary aiming to return to the Olympic Games for the first time since London 2012.

At Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Hungary failed to make it to the Olympic Qualification Tournaments, missing the chance to secure a place in the final competition. But this time around, they will host the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tatabanya, with a big expectation for a sold-out arena in Tatabanya.

“Three matches, three sentences. We are a family! We have one goal: to be there at the Olympics. It's never easy to start a tournament, for me the first match is the most important, it can be decisive. We definitely have to win against Tunisia so that we have a chance to fight for promotion in the next meetings,” said Hungary’s coach, Chema Rodriguez.

Tunisia have won only four of the last 14 matches played against European teams at the IHF Men’s World Championship, therefore making it an even harder proposition to secure a win here, which would enable the African side to dream even higher. Two of those wins came against Austria and one against North Macedonia, arguably teams with a lower threshold than Norway, Hungary and Portugal, the opponents in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #3 for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Still, Tunisia earned their ticket for this competition by finishing third at the 2024 CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship, having lost against eventual winners Egypt, 25:30, in the semi-finals, and cruising in the bronze medal match against Cape Verde, 35:28. 

With experienced players like Mohamed Darmoul in their roster, featuring in Germany at club level for GWD Minden, Tunisia might be a dark horse here, providing all the right drama. Yet they will need a definite improvement from the previous Olympic Qualification Tournaments, when they lost in more or less the same configuration of a group, with three European teams, 27:34 against rivals Portugal, 29:40 against France and 27:30 against Croatia.