Handball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's handball tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was the 14th edition of the handball event for men at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held from 24 July to 7 August 2021. All games were played at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.^[1]

Men's handball
at the XXXII Olympiad

Tournament details
Host country	Japan
Venue(s)	Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Dates	24 July – 7 August 2021
Teams	12 (from 5 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	France (3rd title)
Runners-up	Denmark
Third place	Spain
Fourth place	Egypt
Tournament statistics
Matches played	38
Goals scored	2,204 (58 per match)
Attendance	0 (0 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mikkel Hansen (61 goals)
Awards
Best player	Mathias Gidsel
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It was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but on 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] Because of this pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors.^[3]

The final was a rematch of the previous between Denmark and France. After Denmark won 28–26 in the 2016 final, France got the upper hand with a 25–23 win this time.^[4][5] Spain won the bronze medal match against Egypt.^[6]

This meant that France won both gold medals as the first team since 1984.

The medals for the competition were presented by Jean-Christophe Rolland, IOC Member, Olympian, one Gold medal and one Bronze medal, France; and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Joël Delplanque, IHF 1st Vice-President, France.

Schedule

Legend

G

Group stage

¼

Quarter-finals

½

Semi-finals

B

Bronze medal match

F

Gold medal match

^[7]

Sat 24	Sun 25	Mon 26	Tue 27	Wed 28	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3	Wed 4	Thu 5	Fri 6		Sat 7
G		G		G		G		G		¼		½			B	F

Qualification

Main article: Handball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification

Qualification	Date	Host(s)	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation	—	—	1	Japan
2019 World Championship	10–27 January 2019	Denmark  Germany	1	Denmark
2019 Pan American Games	31 July – 5 August 2019	Lima	1	Argentina
AHF Men’s Asian qualification event	17–26 October 2019	Doha	1	Bahrain
2020 European Championship	10–26 January 2020	Austria  Norway  Sweden	1	Spain
2020 African Championship	16–26 January 2020	Tunisia	1	Egypt
2020 IHF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournaments	12–14 March 2021	Podgorica	2	Norway  Brazil
		Montpellier	2	France  Portugal
		Berlin	2	Sweden  Germany
Total			12

Draw

The draw was held on 1 April 2021.^[8][9]

Seeding

The seeding was revealed on 14 March 2021.^[10]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
Denmark  Norway	France  Sweden	Germany  Portugal	Brazil  Japan	Spain  Egypt	Argentina  Bahrain

Roster

Main article: Handball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters

Referees

The referee pairs were announced on 21 April 2021.^[11]

Referees  Algeria Youcef Belkhiri Sid Ali Hamidi  Argentina María Paolantoni Mariana García  Croatia Matija Gubica Boris Milošević  Czech Republic Václav Horáček Jiří Novotný  Denmark Mads Hansen Jesper Madsen  Egypt Yasmina El-Saied Heidy El-Saied  France Charlotte Bonaventura Julie Bonaventura  Germany Robert Schulze Tobias Tönnies

Referees  North Macedonia Gjorgji Nachevski Slave Nikolov  Portugal Duarte Santos Ricardo Fonseca  Russia Viktoriia Alpaidze Tatiana Berezkina  Slovenia Bojan Lah David Sok  South Korea Koo Bon-ok Lee Se-ok  Spain Óscar Raluy Ángel Sabroso  Sweden Mirza Kurtagic Mattias Wetterwik  Switzerland Arthur Brunner Morad Salah

Group stage

All times are local (UTC+9).^[12][13]

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	5	4	0	1	162	148	+14	8[a]	Quarter-finals
2	Spain	5	4	0	1	155	142	+13	8[a]
3	Germany	5	3	0	2	146	131	+15	6[b]
4	Norway	5	3	0	2	136	132	+4	6[b]
5	Brazil	5	1	0	4	128	145	−17	2
6	Argentina	5	0	0	5	125	154	−29	0

Source: Tokyo 2020 and IHF
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.
Notes:

1. France 36–31 Spain
2. Germany 28–23 Norway

24 July 2021 09:00	Norway	27–24	Brazil	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Sagosen 8	(12–13)	Langaro 5
		Report	1× 6× 1×

24 July 2021 11:00	France	33–27	Argentina	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Richardson 7	(12–10)	D. Simonet 8
	1× 5×	Report	1× 4×

24 July 2021 16:15	Germany	27–28	Spain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Kurtagic, Wetterwik (SWE)
	Weinhold 5	(13–12)	Figueras, Gómez 5
	2× 5×	Report	2× 2×

---

26 July 2021 09:00	Brazil	29–34	France	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Kurtagic, Wetterwik (SWE)
	Dutra 10	(13–16)	three players 4
	4× 1×	Report	2×

26 July 2021 11:00	Argentina	25–33	Germany	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Martínez, D. Simonet 5	(13–14)	Kastening, Schiller 7
	3× 4×	Report	2× 3× 1×

26 July 2021 16:15	Spain	28–27	Norway	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD)
	Figueras 10	(13–14)	Jøndal 9
	1× 5×	Report	2× 2×

---

28 July 2021 16:15	Norway	27–23	Argentina	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Fonseca, Santos (POR)
	Sagosen 7	(13–12)	Pizarro, D. Simonet 5
	2× 4×	Report	2× 7×

28 July 2021 19:30	Brazil	25–32	Spain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Hansen, Madsen (DEN)
	Silva 6	(16–18)	Solé 5
	4×	Report	1× 1×

28 July 2021 21:30	France	30–29	Germany	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Mem 6	(16–13)	Kastening 7
	1×	Report	1× 1×

---

30 July 2021 09:00	Argentina	23–25	Brazil	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO)
	Martínez 6	(7–14)	Silva 7
	2× 4× 1×	Report	1× 5× 1×

30 July 2021 14:15	France	36–31	Spain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Remili 9	(18–12)	Dujshebaev, Gómez 5
	2× 3×	Report	1× 2×

30 July 2021 21:30	Germany	28–23	Norway	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI)
	Gensheimer 6	(14–11)	Sagosen 7
	2× 3×	Report	1× 6× 1×

---

1 August 2021 14:15	Spain	36–27	Argentina	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Kurtagic, Wetterwik (SWE)
	Gómez 6	(17–12)	Pizarro 5
	3×	Report	3×

1 August 2021 16:15	Norway	32–29	France	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Sagosen 7	(15–15)	Descat, N. Karabatić 5
	1× 1×	Report	1× 3×

1 August 2021 19:30	Germany	29–25	Brazil	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Knorr, Weinhold 6	(16–12)	Dutra 7
	1× 3×	Report	2× 2×

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	5	4	0	1	174	139	+35	8[a]	Quarter-finals
2	Egypt	5	4	0	1	154	134	+20	8[a]
3	Sweden	5	4	0	1	144	142	+2	8[a]
4	Bahrain	5	1	0	4	129	149	−20	2[b]
5	Portugal	5	1	0	4	143	156	−13	2[b]
6	Japan (H)	5	1	0	4	146	170	−24	2[b]

Source: Tokyo 2020 and IHF
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.
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1. Denmark 2 Pts, +2 GD; Egypt 2 Pts, 0 GD, Sweden 2 Pts, −2 GD
2. Bahrain 2 Pts, +1 GD; Portugal 2 Pts, 0 GD, Japan 2 Pts, −1 GD

24 July 2021 14:15	Sweden	32–31	Bahrain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI)
	Wanne 13	(16–18)	Habib 6
	1× 3×	Report	1× 5×

24 July 2021 19:30	Portugal	31–37	Egypt	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD)
	Ferraz 6	(15–15)	Hesham 7
	2× 5×	Report	1× 2×

24 July 2021 21:30	Denmark	47–30	Japan	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Holm, Saugstrup 9	(25–14)	Motoki 8
	1× 1×	Report	1× 4×

---

26 July 2021 14:15	Egypt	27–32	Denmark	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP)
	Hesham 6	(15–14)	M. Hansen 9
	5×	Report	2× 5×

26 July 2021 19:30	Bahrain	25–26	Portugal	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Habib 8	(15–14)	Portela 6
	1× 4×	Report	1× 5×

26 July 2021 21:30	Japan	26–28	Sweden	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO)
	Motoki 6	(14–17)	Wanne 8
	1× 4×	Report	1× 1×

---

28 July 2021 09:00	Denmark	31–21	Bahrain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	J. Hansen 6	(12–7)	four players 3
	1×	Report	3× 3×

28 July 2021 11:00	Sweden	29–28	Portugal	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP)
	Ekberg 9	(14–14)	three players 4
	1× 2×	Report	1× 6×

28 July 2021 14:15	Japan	29–33	Egypt	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Tokuda 8	(11–18)	El-Ahmar 8
	1× 7×	Report	2×

---

30 July 2021 11:00	Bahrain	32–30	Japan	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP)
	Al-Sayyad, Habib 7	(17–16)	Motoki 7
	2× 4×	Report	4×

30 July 2021 16:15	Sweden	22–27	Egypt	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Pellas 7	(9–13)	Sanad 6
	2× 2×	Report	2×

30 July 2021 19:30	Portugal	28–34	Denmark	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nachevski, Nikolov (MKD)
	Branquinho 4	(19–20)	M. Hansen 9
	1× 4×	Report	3×

---

1 August 2021 09:00	Portugal	30–31	Japan	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI)
	four players 4	(14–16)	R. Tokuda 6
	2× 4×	Report	2× 2×

1 August 2021 11:00	Egypt	30–20	Bahrain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP)
	El-Ahmar 5	(15–7)	Habib 4
	2× 2×	Report	1× 1×

1 August 2021 21:30	Denmark	30–33	Sweden	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Gidsel, J. Hansen 5	(13–17)	Carlsbogård, Sandell 6
	3× 2×	Report	2× 6×

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Gold medal
	3 August
	France	42
					5 August
	Bahrain	28
					France	27
	3 August
					Egypt	23
	Germany	26
									7 August
	Egypt	31
									France	25
	3 August
									Denmark	23
	Sweden	33
					5 August
	Spain	34
					Spain	23
	3 August
					Denmark	27			Bronze medal
	Denmark	31
									7 August
	Norway	25
									Spain	33
									Egypt	31

Quarterfinals

3 August 2021 09:30	France	42–28	Bahrain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO)
	Mahé 9	(21–14)	Al-Sayyad 5
	3×	Report	2× 5×

---

3 August 2021 13:15	Sweden	33–34	Spain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Wanne 10	(20–18)	Gómez 8
	1× 4×	Report	2× 3×

---

3 August 2021 17:00	Denmark	31–25	Norway	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	M. Hansen, Holm 8	(13–12)	Sagosen 8
	1× 4×	Report	1× 3× 1×

---

3 August 2021 20:45	Germany	26–31	Egypt	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD)
	Golla, Kühn 6	(12–16)	Omar, Zein 5
	1× 3×	Report	1× 1×

Semifinals

5 August 2021 17:00	France	27–23	Egypt	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP)
	Descat, Mem 5	(13–13)	El-Ahmar, Omar 5
	3× 3×	Report	1× 1×

---

5 August 2021 21:00	Spain	23–27	Denmark	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI)
	Dujshebaev, Figueras 5	(10–14)	M. Hansen 12
	1× 4×	Report	2×

Bronze medal game

7 August 2021 17:00	Egypt	31–33	Spain	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	El-Ahmar, Shebib 7	(16–19)	Gómez 8
	2×	Report	2× 4× 1×

Gold medal game

7 August 2021 21:00	France	25–23	Denmark	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD)
	Remili 5	(14–10)	M. Hansen 9
	4×	Report	1× 1×

Ranking and statistics

Final ranking Rank Team[14]  France  Denmark  Spain 4  Egypt 5  Sweden 6  Germany 7  Norway 8  Bahrain 9  Portugal 10  Brazil 11  Japan 12  Argentina

All Star Team The all-star team was announced on 7 August 2021.[15] Position Player Goalkeeper Vincent Gérard Right wing Aleix Gómez Right back Yahia Omar Centre back Nedim Remili Left back Mikkel Hansen Left wing Hugo Descat Pivot Ludovic Fabregas MVP Mathias Gidsel

Top goalscorers Rank Name Goals Shots % 1 Mikkel Hansen 61 100 61 2 Mathias Gidsel 46 57 81 3 Aleix Gómez 44 47 94 4 Sander Sagosen 43 82 52 5 Hampus Wanne 41 57 72 6 Yahia Omar 38 63 60 7 Adrià Figueras 37 47 79 8 Ahmed El-Ahmar 36 49 73 9 Hugo Descat 32 37 86 Nedim Remili 52 62 Source: IHF With his fourth goal against Portugal Mikkel Hansen became the Olympic Games topscorer of all time with 128 goals.[16]

Top goalkeepers Rank Name % Saves Shots 1 Johannes Bitter 33.3 32 96 2 Niklas Landin Jacobsen 32.1 63 196 3 Karim Handawy 31.7 59 186 4 Torbjørn Bergerud 31.5 51 162 5 Gustavo Capdeville 31.4 22 70 6 Vincent Gérard 31.4 74 236 7 Mikael Aggefors 30.4 24 79 8 Leonardo Terçariol 30.2 39 129 9 Mohamed El-Tayar 29.7 38 128 10 Andreas Palicka 28.3 47 166 Source: IHF