The semi-finals at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad open with the defending world and Olympic champions, France, playing European champions Germany. In the second match Poland will face Denmark to decide the second ticket to the final, after both teams played up-and-down group phases before outstanding performances to begin the knock-out stage of the Rio 2016 competition.  

Three of the teams have won Olympic medals before, as Poland were the bronze medallists in 1976, Germany won the first ever Olympic handball event in 1936 and claimed silver in 1984 and 2004, and France were the team to top the podium in both 2008 and 2012 – which means they enter their semi-final against Germany with the added motivation, and pressure, of aiming for their third consecutive title. Denmark however, have never made it past the semi-final stage, with their best-ever ranking of fourth achieved in 1984. 

Both matches are expected to be thrilling displays with all four teams peaking at the right stage of the competition and coming in on the back of strong wins in their quarter-finals. The narrowest quarter-final victory was recorded by Poland, as they beat Croatia 30:27 with particularly exceptional performances from Karol Bielecki, with 12 goals scored in the match, and goalkeeper Piotr Wyszomirski, who contributed a 48% save rate to the win. 

The remaining three teams finished with more decisive score lines in their quarter-final matches, leaving little doubt on the court as to who should contest the penultimate matches that stand in the way of the final. When they face each other however, each side should find themselves considerably more challenged. The first semi-final in particular can be expected to be an outstanding contest, considering the titles both count as their own at the moment. 

While France are always a favourite when they step on court, particularly at the Olympic Games given their two consecutive gold medals, Germany won the most recent international competition – the EHF EURO 2016 held in January in Poland. At that tournament France finished fifth, one place ahead of Denmark, who were one in front of Poland on the final ranking. 

At the EHF EURO 2016 Germany did not play France – in fact it is the first time these teams have met since Dagur Sigurdsson stepped into the position as head coach of Germany in 2014. When Germany were world champions in 2007 they defeated France in the semi-final in extra time, but when they met in the bronze-medal match at the EHF EURO 2008 France were the clear victors. Their last major international match was at the 2013 IHF World Championship, where Germany defeated France in the final preliminary round game – though France had already confirmed their place as group winners at that stage. 

The German line-up in particular has changed considerably since 2013, with the squad at Rio comprised entirely of Olympic debutants – aside from coach Sigurdsson, who represented Iceland at the 2004 Games, and team manager Oliver Roggisch, who played for Germany at Beijing 2008. But Sigurdsson says his young team are becoming stronger all the time: 

“We have a young team, a fighting team, and of course we are playing against a strong side who are a little bit the opposite – they have more experience. But we are confident now, we have a good European championship, and quite a good group phase also, so we have the confidence and we will prepare well and do our best.”

Match schedule for Friday 19 August in Future Arena
Semi-final: France vs Germany 15:30 local time
Semi-final: Poland vs Denmark 20:30 local time