Eight teams remain in the race for medals in the women’s Olympic tournament. So as the teams make their way to Lille for Tuesday’s quarter-finals, details below, I’ve taken some time to rate their most recent efforts in the preliminary round.
09:30 – Denmark vs Netherlands
13:30 – France vs Germany
17:30 – Hungary vs Sweden
21:30 – Norway vs Brazil
This power ranking focuses on the teams’ relative form heading into the knockout rounds, let’s see how the contenders are shaping up, from bottom to top.
8 – Germany
Since the expansion of the women’s Olympic tournament to 12 teams in 2008, there has never been a team to reach the quarter-finals with just two points.
There hasn’t been too much to shout about for this team, though there have been some promising performances, notably the huge win over Slovenia and narrow loss to Denmark. They have a talented group of players but the system they’re playing appears to be stymieing their individual excellence.
7 – Hungary
They were a whisker away from being eliminated from this tournament, thinking back to the win they snatched against Brazil and the draw against Angola. This team has quality in almost every department and I think we’d all like to see it come together on the biggest stage but it simply hasn’t happened yet. They will enjoy being the underdogs on Tuesday and it may well play to their advantage.
6 – Brazil
They showed amazing grit and composure in their must-win match against Angola, which sees them rise a bit in my estimation. They’ve already had their taste of knockout handball in this tournament and they go into the quarter-finals as fearless underdogs with the weapons to scare anyone. Gabi Moreschi and her defence have been impeccable, the big question mark will be whether the attack can deliver for 60 minutes.
5 – Sweden
This may seem a little harsh for a team that has only lost one game so far but that’s how tight it is among the top five at Paris 2024. Their best performance came in the first game and this ranking is weighted towards the most recent matches, which have been a bit less inspiring. Sweden have more back court weapons than ever before but they still need some time to get and run smoothly, that’s not to say they can’t click for a game or two in Lille. If that happens and Johanna Bundsen continues her stellar form, a medal is well within reach.
4 – Netherlands
The Dutch have gone about their business quietly and efficiently, doing no more and no less than we expected before the games began. Three solid wins and a loss to France leave them with a Scandinavian-flavoured route to the final, which they and their Swedish coach Per Johansson will not mind one bit. This could be the perfect moment for a blend of two generations to deliver something major after 4th and 5th place finishes in the past two Olympics.
3 – Denmark
They have responded brilliantly to the setback of a heavy loss to Norway, showing their resilience in neck-and-neck encounters with Sweden and Germany, emerging victorious from both.
The Danes are enjoyable to watch, due to their style of play and the uncanny ability to look capable of winning or losing against everyone else remaining in the competition.
2 – Norway
A Henny Reistad-shaped hole in the team was evident in the opening day loss to Sweden but since then, it’s been business as usual for the European champions. A dismantling of Denmark sparked their revival and is the main reason for their high ranking. There are natural concerns over the fitness of Nora Mørk, who was kept out in recent days due to a reoccurrence of an old calf injury. Nevertheless, their hunt for a first Olympic gold in 12 years is very much on.
1 – France
The only team with a perfect record in the women’s competition and it’s difficult to argue with that. As per usual, the full depth of the squad has been displayed and deployed during the preliminary round but unusually for them, they’re cruised through the group without any real difficulty. They’ve enjoyed the party so far and it’s difficult to envision them not competing over the final weekend.