The semifinal matches of the men's handball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics wrapped up on Friday, Aug. 9. Take a look at the recaps from each game as they happened throughout the day.
Germany vs. Spain
After an exit in the quarterfinal round of the Tokyo Olympics, Germany is playing for gold in Paris. The Germans edged out Spain 25-24 in the first semifinal match of the day.
Spain's Agustin Casado attempted what would have been the game-tying goal with four seconds left, but Germany's Johannes Golla tipped the ball and time ran out.
Renars Uscins led Germany with six goals in the match, followed by Golla and Juri Knorr, who scored four goals each.
Spain, the bronze medalists in Tokyo, will seek a third-place finish once again in the bronze medal match against Slovenia on Aug. 11. Germany will face Denmark in the gold medal match the same day.
Slovenia vs. Denmark
Denmark survived a late surge from Slovenia to win 31-30 in their semifinal match and will now play for a gold medal.
Denmark remained in control for the majority of the match, including when the team took a 15-10 lead into the second half. But it was a different story late in the second half. Denmark was up 26-20 when Slovenia began to quickly put up points on the scoreboard in the last 15 minutes. By the 50th-minute mark, Slovenia was only down by three as Denmark led 29-26.
Slovenia continued to put pressure on its opponents and prevented Denmark from two-goal lead in the last three minutes. Blaz Janc, who had four goals in the match for Slovenia, scored with less than a minute on the clock as Slovenia remained down 31-30. Denmark had the chance to put the game to bed but goalkeeper Borut Mackovsek saved a penalty with 20 seconds to go and Slovenia quickly transitioned to the other side of the court, but was unable to level the score.
Both sides showed their attacking prowess as Slovenina converted 68% of its 44 shots and Denmark converted 63% of its 49 shots.
Denmark will now play Egypt in the gold medal match at 7:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 11, while Slovenia will play against Spain in the bronze medal match at 3 a.m. ET the same day.