The eagerly awaited 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is a stone's throw away, and the battle for a spot on the world’s biggest stage is red-hot. With just six coveted places remaining in the handball tournament, some of the best teams worldwide are yet to book their ticket and will be preparing to do battle in the three qualification tournaments before the grand spectacle gets underway. Let’s take a look at the upcoming qualifiers and some of the teams to keep an eye on.
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Who’s in the Running?
Several sides have already punched their tickets to Paris, starting with France, who earned automatic qualification as the hosts. Denmark is another side that received automatic entry to the tournament as the world champions, while Argentina and Japan were allowed the right of passage as the Pan-American and Asian Qualification champions, respectively. The automatic entries are rounded off with the African Handball Championship winners, Egypt, and the European Handball Championship victors, Sweden.
The Remaining Qualification Tournaments
The teams that will join France, Denmark, Argentina, Japan, Egypt, and Sweden in Paris this year will be determined through three qualification tournaments.
- Tournament 1 – to be held at the Palau d'Esports de Granollers, Spain.
- Tournament 2 – to be held at the ZAG Arena, Germany.
- Tournament 3 – to be held at the Tatabanya Arena, Hungary.
Tournament 1 features Spain, who clinched third place in the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. They will be pitted against Slovenia as well as the team ranked second in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, Bahrain. Brazil came second in the 2023 Pan-American Games and is the final entrant in this tournament.
Next, Tournament 2 will see three European teams, along with Algeria, converge for a place in Paris. The Algerians finished second in the 2024 CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship. They will face Germany and Croatia, who came fifth and ninth, respectively, in the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, and Austria, who managed an eighth-placed finish in the EHF EURO 2024.
Lastly, Tournament 3 includes the sixth and eighth-placed sides from the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, Norway and Hungary. They will be joined by EHF EURO 2024’s seventh-placed team, Portugal, and the tournament will be rounded out with Tunisia, who managed to finish third in the 2024 CAHB African Men’s Handball Championship.
All three Tournaments will be played simultaneously between 14 – 17 March 2024, and the top two teams from each tournament will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The Teams to Keep an Eye on
While each team heading into the qualification tournaments have all earned their right to compete for a spot at the 2024 Olympics, certain participants stand out as ones to possibly follow, especially if you’re placing wagers on the competitions.
Undoubtedly, the clear favorites to secure qualification is Spain. The Spaniards are one of the most successful nations in the world of handball and are ranked fifth in the world as of 2024. In tournament 2, Germany, who ranks fourth in the world, is the out-and-out favorite, while 13th-ranked Hungary is attracting significant betting attention in tournament 3 as the competition hosts. Brazil, as the highest-ranked team in the Americas, is also expected to be in the mix to clinch a top-two spot in the tournament.
The Road to Paris 2024 has already been a challenging one, and with only six spots remaining, the upcoming qualification tournaments promise to be both intense and hotly contested. March 14-17 is the last chance for these 12 nations, but will we see the favorites live up to the billing, or will an underdog rise up to handball powerhouses?
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