Sweden vs Japan Prediction & Betting Tips - Men's Olympics Handball

Prediction published on 02/08/2024, 03:00  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 02/08/2024 at 23:45 in Men's Olympics Handball Predictions

Can Sweden reach the quarter-finals of this Olympic handball tournament? They are third in Group A and in their final fixture face Japan who are bottom and yet to earn a point. Here’s our prediction of this vital match.

Sweden's form going into this Olympic tournament was impressive with three straight victories. They got off to a poor start in Paris with a loss to Germany. Spain was defeated in their next match but then they lost to Slovenia. That loss left them in fifth place with only the top four qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Friday saw them face Croatia in a vital match and the Swedes ran out winners by an 11-goal margin. They only led by three at the break but won the second-half 20-12 to extend that margin to 11. A win over Japan will see them go through to the last eight.

Japan are bottom of the group and yet to record a point. That has seen them eliminated from this Olympic tournament as they are four points adrift of all the other sides in the group. They did put in a decent performance on Friday and only lost to Slovenia by a single goal.

They still slumped to their fourth defeat in this group and have conceded 133 goals. In total, they have lost their last eight matches with only one win in ten. We back Sweden to get the win here and to defy a six-goal handicap.