Men’s competition
The France men were part of all four Olympic finals since 2008, when they won gold for the first time, beating Iceland in the final. In 2012, France defended their title by beating Sweden in London. At Rio 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021, the final was Denmark versus France. First, the Scandinavians grabbed gold, which was Denmark’s first for the men. In Tokyo, France turned the tables and won the title.
Denmark and France will meet on match day one, on July 27, in a rematch of the EHF EURO 2024 final won by France. In 2023, the sides locked horns in the final of the World Championship in Stockholm, when Denmark completed their hattrick, taking the trophy for the third consecutive time.
From both sides, a legendary player will say farewell in Paris: Nikola Karabatic (France) and Mikkel Hansen (Denmark). And many hope that they clash in the final on August 11. Karabatic is the first handball player to be part of six Olympic Games. If France secure the title, he will be the first handball player ever to win four gold medals at the Olympic Games. France coach Guillaume Gille is the only person in men’s handball who has won European, world and Olympic gold medals as a player and a coach.
Besides those top contenders, seven more European teams have qualified for the men’s competition, including the two EHF EURO 2024 semi-finalists Sweden (bronze) and Germany (fourth). They will duel on day one in a rematch of the 3/4 placement game in Cologne. Their preliminary round group is completed by two-time EHF EURO champions Spain, two-time Olympic champions Croatia, Slovenia and, as the only non-European team, Japan. This constellation means that new Croatia coach Dagur Sigurdsson will face his two former national teams: Japan and Germany.
Group B features Denmark, France, Norway and Hungary as the European sides, plus the dark horse of Egypt, the only non-European semi-finalists at Tokyo 2020. The sixth team in group B are Pan American Games champions Argentina. All 12 teams in the men’s competition count on players from European clubs.