From April 11 to 14, two tickets for the Olympic Games in Paris will be up for grabs, with Montenegrin handball players set to compete against Germany, Slovenia, and Paraguay.

The host nation for the Olympic qualifiers among these teams has yet to be determined, but it’s anticipated that the Handball Association of Montenegro will strive to secure this opportunity for our country. Coach Bojana Popović has emphasized the significance of her players competing in front of their home crowd.

Germany is expected to arrive at the tournament as the highest-ranked team from the recent World Championship (sixth place), while Slovenia qualified with an eighth-place finish at the last European Championship. Paraguay claimed third place at the Pan American Games.

When facing these opponents, the “lionesses” have history on their side, as Montenegro boasts a favorable record against all teams in the tournament.

Our national team has faced Germany four times, winning three matches and losing once. In the World Cup in Brazil, the “lionesses” secured a 25:24 victory, while they lost 27:20 during an inconsequential game at the EHF Euro 2012—after already advancing to the semi-finals—but triumphed by the same score two years later. Last year, in “Morača” during the group stage of the European Championship, the result was 29:25.

Slovenia is led by a notable figure, former Montenegro head coach Dragan Adžić, who is the only coach to have led Slovenia to victory against Montenegro in the eight encounters to date—two years ago at the World Cup, when the “lionesses” were at a disadvantage.

Paraguay represents an interesting story from South America; however, they’re clearly outmatched in this company. Montenegro has faced this team only once—during the second round of the most recent World Championship—where they easily won 41:26.

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