Over the past years, Egypt established themselves as the bona-fide African powerhouse in handball, delivering excellent performance after excellent performance in major international competitions. On their own turf, they secured the title at the last three editions of the CAHB Men’s African Handball Championship, while at the IHF Men’s World Championship, “The Pharaohs” have back-to-back quarter-finals berths.

For the fourth consecutive edition, Argentina have made it to the Olympic Games, as the only team from the South and Central American Handball Confederation to secure a place between the top 12 teams in the world.

Argentina made their debut at the Olympic Games at London 2012 and, since then, have not missed an edition, finishing 10th, then 10th again at Rio 2016 and 12th, on the last place at Tokyo 2020, a performance they would likely want to improve when they take on the court at Paris 2024.

A five-time European champion and a four-time World champion, Sweden have established themselves as one of the top teams in the world in men’s handball, with consistent performances over the last decades. A resurgence has been felt in the last years, with Sweden securing the title at the EHF EURO 2022, finishing fourth at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship and third at the EHF EURO 2024.

Last October, 11 Asian teams lined up in Doha, Qatar for the Paris 2024 AHF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, with Japan defying all odds and securing a huge win, their maiden qualification at the Olympic Games via this path, by clinching six wins in six matches.

First, they delivered a pitch perfect performance in the preliminary round, winning against the Islamic Republic of Iran (25:20), Bahrain (27:26), Kuwait (32:30) and Kazakhstan (44:19), in close succession, with the matches against Bahrain and Kuwait being clearly close.

Tunisia men make their long-awaited debut at an IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship, coming to China as African champions, having won the African Beach Games in Hammamet on home sand in June 2023.