The second semi-final is composed of the 2016 Olympic champions and three-time world champions Denmark, and Olympic semi-final debutant Slovenia. EHF Champions league star Aleks Vlah was the hero for head coach Uros Zorman's team, netting 11 times in the never-endangered 33:28 win in the quarter-final against Norway.
Slovenia – EHF EURO semi-finalists in 2020 – had control from start to finish, while Sander Sagosen and co.'s time in Paris ended in the quarter-finals, just as it did in Tokyo. Slovenia had already surprised in the preliminary round with wins against Sweden and Croatia. “It's a dream come true. We've dreamed about this moment for the past three years. We wanted this win so much and put so much energy into this game. I don't think any player has any energy left in his body. We gave all and this is the result,” said Vlah, who is currently the second-highest scorer in the competition with 46 goals.
The first and third positions in the top scorer list are currently held by two Danish shooters: IHF World Player Mathias Gidsel (47 goals) and Simon Pytlick (44), winner of the 2023 EHF Excellence Award. Their team, which played an absolutely dominant preliminary stage with five clear wins in the same number of matches, were shaken in their quarter-final by arch-rivals Sweden, but finally secured a third consecutive semi-final spot under the rings after 2016 (gold) and 2021 (silver).
After an initial 6:10 deficit, Sweden turned the match to 15:14 – and from that moment on the lead went back and forth. Finally, Pytlick took the responsibility with nine goals, and when EHF Champions League winner Emil Nielsen saved the last Swedish shot by Oscar Bergendahl nine seconds before the end, the 32:31 win was sealed – and in contrast to that of Nikola Karabatic, the career of Mikkel Hansen was extended by two more matches. And Denmark is the only nation represented in both semi-finals – men and women – in Lille.
Quarter-final results of the men’s 2024 Olympic tournament:
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille
Spain vs Egypt 29:28 (8:12, 25:25) after overtime
Germany vs France 35:34 (15:17, 29:29) after overtime
Denmark vs Sweden 32:31 (16:16)
Slovenia vs Norway 33:28 (16:12)
Semi-finals, Friday, 9 August
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille
16:30 CEST: Germany vs Spain
21:30 CEST: Slvenia vs Denmark
Final ranking of the positions 5 to 12:
5. Egypt, 6. Norway, 7. Sweden, 8. France, 9. Croatia, 10. Hungary, 11. Japan, 12. Argentina