Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament facts for kids
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  France |
| Dates | 27 July – 11 August |
| Teams | 12 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | South Paris Arena 6 Pierre Mauroy Stadium (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  DEN (2nd title) |
| Runner-up |  GER |
| Third place |  ESP |
| Fourth place |  SLO |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches | 38 |
| Goals scored | 2221 (58.45 per match) |
| Attendance | 367,592 (9,673 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Mathias Gidsel(62 goals) |
| Best player | Mathias Gidsel |
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The men's handball tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics was a super exciting event! It was the 15th time men's handball was played at the Summer Olympic Games. The games took place from July 27 to August 11, 2024.
The first games were held at the South Paris Arena 6 in Paris, France. For the final matches, the teams moved to the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.
Denmark won their second Olympic title by beating Germany in the final. Spain earned the bronze medal after winning against Slovenia.
Contents
How Teams Qualified
Teams had to go through special tournaments to earn their spot in the Olympics. This made sure only the best teams competed!
Team Rosters
Want to know which players were on each team? You can find all the details about the team rosters here.
The Games Begin: Group Stage
The tournament started with a group stage, where 12 teams were split into two groups, Group A and Group B. Teams played against every other team in their group. The top teams from each group moved on to the knockout stage.
Group A Standings
Here's how the teams finished in Group A:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
Group B Standings
Here's how the teams finished in Group B:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
Knockout Stage: The Finals Begin
After the group stage, the top teams moved into the knockout rounds. This meant that if a team lost, they were out of the tournament!
Tournament Bracket
This chart shows how the teams played against each other in the final rounds:
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Gold medal | ||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| GER (ET) |
35 | |||||||||
| 9 August | ||||||||||
| FRA |
34 | |||||||||
| GER |
25 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| ESP |
24 | |||||||||
| ESP (ET) |
29 | |||||||||
| 11 August | ||||||||||
 EGY |
28 | |||||||||
| GER |
26 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| DEN |
39 | |||||||||
 NOR |
28 | |||||||||
| 9 August | ||||||||||
| SLO |
33 | |||||||||
| SLO |
30 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| DEN |
31 | Bronze medal | ||||||||
| DEN |
32 | |||||||||
| 11 August | ||||||||||
 SWE |
31 | |||||||||
| ESP |
23 | |||||||||
| SLO |
22 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were intense!
- Spain won a very close game against Egypt, 29–28, after going into overtime.
- Germany also had a nail-biting overtime win against France, 35–34.
- Denmark beat Sweden 32–31 in another tight match.
- Slovenia defeated Norway 33–28.
Semifinals
Only four teams remained for the semifinals:
- Germany continued their winning streak by beating Spain 25–24.
- Denmark secured their spot in the final by winning against Slovenia 31–30.
Bronze Medal Game
The bronze medal game was played between the two teams that lost in the semifinals.
- Spain won the bronze medal, beating Slovenia 23–22 in a very close contest.
Gold Medal Game
The big final game was for the gold medal!
- Denmark played against Germany. Denmark showed amazing strength and won the gold medal with a score of 39–26, becoming Olympic champions for the second time!
Final Ranking and Top Players
After all the games, here's how the teams ranked and who the standout players were.
Final Ranking
All-Star Team
The best players from the tournament were chosen for the "All-Star Team." This team includes the top player for each position, plus the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
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Top Goalscorers
These players scored the most goals during the tournament:
Source: Olympics Paris 2024 goalscorers |
Top Goalkeepers
These goalkeepers made the most saves and had the best save percentages:
Source: Olympics Paris 2024 goalkeepers |
Medal Winners
Here are the teams that won medals at the men's handball tournament:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Denmark
Niklas Landin Jacobsen (c) (GK) Head coach: Nikolaj Jacobsen |
Germany
David Späth (GK) Head coach: Alfreð Gíslason |
Spain
Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (c) (GK) Head coach: Jordi Ribera |
