There are several USA women participating in the Budapest Beach Handball Cup. If there are any live streams available for their matches the links will be added here.
The Olympics are now less than 4 weeks away. Courtesy of 10 Bet, here are the current odds for each nation to win Gold
Women’s Olympic Handball Odds
The oddsmakers see the Women’s Olympic Handball Tournament as mostly a 3 team race between Norway, Russia and France
Norway won the 2020 European Championships this past December. They dominated their opponents in pool play, but were challenged by Denmark in the semifinals and France in the final.
Russia are the defending Olympic champions, but had a disappointing performance at the European Championships mostly due to some missing players. The good news is that 2016 Olympics MVP, Anna Viakhireva, is healthy and should be ready to go.
France are seen as the 3rd strong contender, but they are unpredictable. This past December they gave Norway all they could handle in the European Championship Final. However, a year earlier at the 2019 World Championships they didn’t even make it out of their preliminary group.
The Netherlands (12 to 1) won the World Championships in December, 2019, and their odds surely would be better if center back, Estavana Polman, wasn’t out due to an ACL. At this past December’s European Championship it was very clear that the Dutch really missed her leading the offensive attack. They may, however, have a solution if Nycke Groot returns to international play.
The next grouping of teams, Hungary (16 to 1), Montenegro (18 to 1), Spain (18 to 1) and Sweden (20 to 1) can be seen as relative outsiders, but each with a solid chance to make the semifinals.
South Korea (28 to 1) and Brazil (66 to 1) have slipped a bit in quality in recent years, but they are still capable of a surprise victory
Hosts Japan (80 to 1) have a very fast style of play, but teams will likely be ready for it.
Angola (500 to 1) the longest of the long shots and winning a match might be a reasonable goal for them.
The Olympics are now less than 4 weeks away. Courtesy of 10 Bet, here are the current odds for each nation to win Gold
Men’s Olympic Handball Odds
The defending Olympic Champions and current World Champions, Denmark are slight favorites to win the title at 2.5 to 1
The current European Champions, Spain, are right behind them at 2.75 to 1
Norway hasn’t qualified for the Olympics since 1972 and are an up and coming side. Led by Sander Sagosen, they have made the semifinals of 3 of the last 5 major tournaments
France’s performance has slipped in recent years, but they still are a threat at 5 to 1
Sweden (7.5 to 1) was the surprise runners up at the the 2021 World Championships
German (11 to 1) is the last side seen as a minor longshot.
Portugal is making its first ever Olympic appearance, but are a significant longshot at 33 to 1.
At 50 to 1, Egypt seems like a pretty good value to me. I suspect that tourney favorites, Denmark, would also agree seeing that they needed a penalty shoot out to beat them at the World Championships in January. Sure that was in Egypt, but it was without a home crowd, not unlike what we will see in Japan.
The remaining 4 sides, Japan (125 to 1), Brazil (250 to 1), Argentina (500 to 1), and Bahrain (1,000 to 1) are see as major outsiders. I think Brazil and Argentina are deserving of more respect as they are more than capable of defeating any of the European sides in the tournament.
The Rip Beach Handball Club will be in action this weekend in Spain.
More information on where to find web streams for National Team, Professional Club and USA Competitions: Link
For regular updates on when and where handball matches can be streamed online follow Team Handball News on social media: TwitterFacebookInstagram
All times are CET which is 6 hours ahead of US ET. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM and/or OddsPortal.
American Athletes in Action
The Rip Beach Handball Club will be participating in the Orihuela, Spain stop on the Arena Handball Tour. Many of the athletes playing for Rip Beach are also members of the USA Beach Handball National Team. I will post the scheduled match times and results when they are available. They also will surely be available on Rip Beach Handball’s social media platforms
6th place Dormagen hosts 4th place Elbflorenz in the last match of a very long season. A win here would put Dormagen level on points (40) with Elbflorenz.
The Euro Cup is a tournament for the European nations that had already qualified for the 2022 European Championships and this make up match is a tune up opportunity for Olympic bound Spain and a chance for Croatia to start their rebuilding effort.
Ebiye Udo-Udoma and the rest of the U.S. Men’s Beach Team Handball squad will be in action several times this weekend.
More information on where to find web streams for National Team, Professional Club and USA Competitions: Link
For regular updates on when and where handball matches can be streamed online follow Team Handball News on social media: TwitterFacebookInstagram
All times are CET which is 6 hours ahead of US ET. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM and/or OddsPortal.
American Athletes in Action
The USA Beach Handball Men are participating in a tournament in the Canary Islands. On Friday and Saturday they play round robin matches. The top two teams will play for 1st while the the remaining 3 teams will play a mini round robin for places 3-5. (Note: Local Time for the Canary Islands is 1 hour behind CET)
More information on where to find web streams for National Team, Professional Club and USA Competitions: Link
For regular updates on when and where handball matches can be streamed online follow Team Handball News on social media: TwitterFacebookInstagram
All times are CET which is 6 hours ahead of US ET. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM and/or OddsPortal.
Most of the professional club leagues have finished the season and to the best of my knowledge there are no mid week matches available for viewing on line.
In Cameroon, the 2021 African Women’s Handball Championships are taking place and some of the matches have been available for viewing online, either on the CAHB Facebook Page or on the Cameroon TV webpage. On Tuesday, the quarterfinals are taking place and since Africa has 4 tickets to the World Championships these matches are also de facto WC qualification matches.
Unfortunately, so far, the videos on the Facebook Page have been a bit sporadic in terms of availability and Cameroon TV has shown only matches with Cameroon play. Hopefully, this will change. Check back for updates.
Semifinal: TV Hannover-Bandstedt vs HC Erlangen (Saturday, 1715): Video Link
Eden Nesper (#44) is a Right Wing for Hannover; Nesper was named to the U.S. preliminary roster for this summer’s North American & Caribbean Championship
Hannover won 30-23 and will play in the first place match on Sunday.
1st Place Match: TV Hannover-Bandstedtvs HSG Blomberg-Lippe (Sunday, 1345): Video Link
More information on where to find web streams for National Team, Professional Club and USA Competitions: Link
For regular updates on when and where handball matches can be streamed online follow Team Handball News on social media: TwitterFacebookInstagram
All times are CET which is 6 hours ahead of US ET. Odds courtesy of Bet MGM and/or OddsPortal.
The handball season is winding down and there’s not much happening mid-week except for the good ol’ French LIDL StarLigue with a key match for a club to avoid relegation.
While living in France from 2002-2007 it was a bit annoying to see Montpellier win everything. But, there were a few club sides that would give them a battle and one of those clubs was U.S. Ivry. And, I’ll never forget the 2006-07 season where Ivry led by a young (just 22) and very talented Right Wing/Right Back named Luc Abalo pipped Montpellier for the title. I pity relative newcomers to the sport that think Abalo is just a pretty good wing. You should have seen him play that season where he scored from everywhere and willed Ivry to a title. Yes, he played quite a bit at backcourt and I’ve never seen an undersized back court player dominate the way he did that season.
Unfortunately, thing have gone downhill for Ivry since they won that title. A proud franchise located in the Paris suburbs, that 2006-2007 title was the last of 8 they’ve won (only Montpellier has won more French titles). Since that high water mark they’ve not contended for a title and they even got relegated to the 2nd division for the 2014-15 season, for the first time since 1957. They immediately popped back up to the 1st division, but it’s been a constant fight to stay there.
They now have 2 make up matches left to play and they need to get 3 points to pass Cesson-Rennes and avoid relegation. First up is the tougher of the two tests, a match against 7th place Toulouse on Wednesday. On Saturday, they have and easier task vs 13th place Creteil. Can they do it? It’s possible. In their last match they upset 6th place Chambery.
It may not be the Champions League Final Four, but for the players involved it’s pretty important and therefore handball worth checking out.
