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Handball is always one of the highlight events of the Summer Olympics and the men’s tournament will get underway Saturday, July 27 in Paris, culminating in the gold medal match on Aug. 11.
Host nation France enters the fray looking to defend its gold medal earned in Tokyo, and is the odds-on favorite for the event. Read on for 2024 Olympic handball odds and predictions for the action in Paris:
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2024 Olympic handball odds, preview, and predictions
Much like soccer, the handball format is broken out into groups: A and B. Twelve teams will face off through the group stage, with the winners on points reaching the quarterfinals – and later medal matches. The United States will not be represented in the handball tournament. Matches will be held in Lille instead of Paris.
France notched gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events in 2020 and will seek to duplicate that historic feat as the host nation. Spain and Slovenia will kick things off in the tournament, with matches between Hungary and Egypt, Croatia and Japan, and Norway and Argentina on the docket for day one. The top five on the odds board for the men’s tournament are as follows:
You simply can’t deny a defending gold medal team as the host nation. France has been utterly dominant in the men’s handball event, having taken home gold in three of the last four Olympics. Les Bleus are favorites for a reason – they excel at the Olympics. Nemesis Denmark – who they defeated in the gold medal match by two points in Tokyo – will pose the biggest challenge, but the magic of hosting the 2024 Olympic Games should be an X-factor for France, which is also favored to win Group B at -500.
Two-time Olympic gold medalists, Croatia are a sneaky pick in Paris. After winning in Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004, Croatia has not enjoyed recent years, having finished 15th in the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship and ninth in 2023. Still, the Croatian squad tallied victories over Germany, Austria, and Algeria during 2024 qualifiers, and are in top form ahead of the event.
They did pull a rough draw with Group A, with matches against Germany, Spain, Slovenia, and Japan on the slate in the group stage. Should they emerge, however, the Croatians will pose a challenge in the knockout rounds.
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Carter Breazeale is a contributor for Catena Media with a focus on sports, business and the business of sports. An Atlanta native currently residing in Orlando, Carter graduated from The University of Central Florida. He’s appeared in Catena’s PlayGeorgia, SB Nation’s The Falcoholic and The Orlando Business Journal.
