Here you will find the „Advanced Stats“ summary of the preliminary round handball matches at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Short analyses can be found on Twitter and Instagram. Detailed analyses are available (almost) daily on our podcast „Handball in Numbers – The Handballytics Podcast“ (available in every podcast app).
The numbers of the knockout stage can be found here.
The used stats:
- Per 50 Possessions
- Pace and Possession Length
- Expected Goals
- Net Save Percentage and Goalkeeper Efficency
The size of the bars represents the value in comparison to all values of the Olympic Games, World Championships and Olympic Qualification Tournaments since 2008.
Day 10 – Women
Angola tried to make the game as slow as possible, while South Korea did the opposite and created the better chances. But Angola made up for it with greater efficiency.#KOR #ANG #KORANG #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/9axPD8eZLa
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
With a convincing defensive performance, France made the quarter-finals clear. Once again, it was the goalkeepers who performed really well.#FRA #BRA #BRAFRA #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/OHKPnlAMhD
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
"ROC yeah, number one clique here!" Even though the Russians narrowly missed out on winning the group, Jay-Z's words at least apply to this match. A little less turnovers and a little higher efficiency made the difference.#ESP #ROC #ESPROC #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/tYoJUGGZGm
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
Very close match between Hungary and Sweden. The only differences were in possession length, where Hungary took much more time, and in goalkeeping, which was the deciding factor in the end.#HUN #SWE #HUNSWE #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/cV9txIKnOf
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
The Netherlands beat Montenegro by a razor-thin margin. Although they had the worse goalkeeping, they made up for it with far fewer turnovers and more second shooting chances.#NED #MNE #NEDMNE #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/Pejw6NzuaW
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
Once again, turnovers were the big problem for the hosts. Apart from that, the numbers would have been quite even, but because of that there were far fewer opportunities to create chances (and thus xG) in the first place#NOR #JPN #NORJPN #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/aaOPXopRZr
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 2, 2021
Day 9 – Men
With the last game, the hosts managed to get their first win. They finally managed to keep the turnovers low and at the same time take many high percentage finishes.#POR #JPN #PORJPN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/YKpZe92WDb
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
A good offense, but especially an outstanding Mohamed Eltayar in goal gave Egypt the victory. 87.2% more saves than expected saves is absolutely outstanding.#EGY #BRN #EGYBRN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/MkKOzkHEIN
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
In a very fast-paced game, both teams managed to get quality finishes. Spain, however, did so more often as they had less turnovers and were more efficient with their shots.#ESP #ARG #ESPARG #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/rFNdmuMPKO
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
Great offensive performance by the Norwegians. Hardly any turnovers, many second shot chances and many good finishing opportunities (high expected goals) secured them the victory.#NOR #FRA #NORFRA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/Z4uBcHmKXb
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
Another slow paced game with high efficiency and strong performance of the goalkeepers brought Germany the victory.#GER #BRA #GERBRA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/epzygj9QgX
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
Few turnovers on both sides lead to many expected goals. Denmark had the better chances, but Sweden had the better GKs and was much more efficient.
— Handballytics (@handballytics) August 1, 2021
🎙️More on this game in our next podcast episode that will be released tomorrow.#DEN #SWE #DENSWE #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/CMsyz5EOFG
Day 8 – Women
Japan had the better chances, i.e. expected goals. Angola, however, used their chances much more efficient than expected and thus prevailed.#ANG #JPN #ANGJPN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/5rjm1P2ESr
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
Very close game in all areas. The difference for Montenegro in the end was the slightly higher efficiency and slightly lower turnovers.#MNE #KOR #MNEKOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/ynkY8Tyb6E
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
Another very close game. ROC had the slightly weaker shooting percentage, but was able to compensate for this due to fewer turnovers and more second shooting chances.#ROC #FRA #ROCFRA #Olympics #Tokyp2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/eURYT0P80p
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
Very efficient game on both sides. In the end, perhaps the decisive difference was once again the goalkeeping performance, where the Swedes clearly had the edge.#BRA #SWE #BRASWE #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #handball pic.twitter.com/lgQCIf6bxb
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
Clearly fewer turnovers and more 2nd shooting chances ensured that the Hungarians were able to create a lot of high-quality chances. Efficiency was slightly below average, but that was something they could get over.#HUN #ESP #HUNESP #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/FdOJee2AY4
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
In the duel of the World and European champions, the latter prevailed due to their good defence, led by the once again strong goalkeeper Silje Solberg.#NOR #NED #NORNED #Olympics #Toyko2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/OTmE8adyVW
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 31, 2021
Day 7 – Men
Despite a great comeback, it wasn't quite enough for Argentina in the end. They just couldn't use their good shooting opportunities well enough – especially at the beginning, of course.#ARG #BRA #ARGBRA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/6zLvExEQTl
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
Japan made good use of their chances, but did not manage to create many "100% chances" (although this expression is of course nonsense). And sadly their lack of goalkeeper performance has been a constant throughout the tournament.#BRN #JPN #BRNJPN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/kKnGbSKRnU
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
What an offensive spectacle, especially from France. 31.0 goals per 50 poss. is very good, especially against a top team. Reasons are their very good chances and great efficiency, which of course is linked to the weak Spanish GKs.#FRA #ESP #FRAESP #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/6gZb0lotby
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
What a upset for the Egyptians against the runners-up of the World Championship! They took all the time in the world in offense, were efficient and had very strong support from goalkeeper Karim Hendawy.#SWE #EGY #SWEEGY #tokyo2020 #olympics #handball pic.twitter.com/mwqGhfX7xU
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
Denmark remains in very strong form. Their offense is outstanding, the actual goals per 50 possessions, the chances created and the efficiency are all very very strong.#POR #DEN #PORDEN #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/U3HVFbN2dJ
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
Finding the reasons for Germany's victory against Norway is easy: the Goalkeepers. The Norwegian GKs also had a good game, but Wolff and especially @JogiBitter were outstanding with a combined 52.4% more saves than expected saves.#GER #NOR #GERNOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/SMltBPZWlz
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 30, 2021
Day 6 – Women
According to Expected Goals, the Netherlands should have won the game by a narrow margin, but they simply used their chances way more efficiently. The clear difference in attacking time is also very noticeable.#NED #ANG #NEDANG #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/Vi9UNgXwjb
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
Spain even had significantly lower xG than Brazil, as they had significantly more turnovers & fewer 2nd chances. However, a strong GK performance by @SilviNavarro16 and their own shooting effciency ensured the Guerreras' victory.#ESP #BRA #ESPBRA #Olympics #tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/s4kUyX2h4P
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
Turnovers were again a big problem for Japan. Against Montenegro it didn't matter because they had no support from their goalkeepers, but today the goalkeepers were strong on both sides.#JPN #KOR #JPNKOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/dmuDq0WZHq
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
The shots Montenegro took were of high quality in themselves. The only problem was that they got far fewer throws and the Norwegian goalkeepers also played well.#MNE #NOR #MNENOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #handball pic.twitter.com/UXZdoZJx8e
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
According to Expected Goals, the Hungarians have fulfilled expectations. The problem for them, however, was that their opponents were much more efficient than expected resp. that their goalkeepers fell short of expectations.#HUN #ROC #HUNROC #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/WPCdkCPojW
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
Close call. France had slightly better chances, but could not convert them. Especially the important 7m. #SWE #FRA #SWEFRA #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/0lsQY8h8wS
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 29, 2021
Day 5 – Men
Extremely close game between Sweden and Portugal by all numbers. The runners-up at the World Championship were able to win by a narrow margin because they were minimally more efficient and their goalkeepers were slightly better. #SWE #POR #SWEPOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/CX3ROT32Xf
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
Bahrain – who take more time in attack than any other team – managed to score a similar number of Expected Goals despite significantly more turnovers. The defending gold medalists, however, took their chances much more efficiently#DEN #BRN #DENBRN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/aFg98kNLLi
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
Far too many turnovers (and hardly any off. rebounds) by Japan led to them not having many shots (and thus xG), even if they used the chances they had efficiently.
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
🎙️More on this game and xG later today on "Handball in Numbers"#JPN #EGY #JPNEGY #tokyo2020 #olympics #handball pic.twitter.com/4uOSb6nuA1
Despite an outstanding performance by GK Leonel Maciel, it was not enough for the underdog in the end. They really managed to get a lot of high quality shots and thus had the better shooting percentage, but the many turnovers were too much.#NOR #ARG #NORARG #Tokyo2020 #handball pic.twitter.com/7BOuzOtaK3
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
For Spain, the turnovers and better shooting percentage (a consequence of better quality throws and better goalkeeping) were once again the decisive factors.#BRA #ESP #BRAESP #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/cUkwSaqQRj
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
It was little things that made the difference in the last game of the day, such as the three second throwing chances France had more. All the numbers relevant to success were extremely close.#FRA #GER #FRAGER #tokyo2020 #olympics #handball pic.twitter.com/9irKTwp1vQ
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 28, 2021
Day 4 – Women
First win for the hosts! Japan had six more turnovers, but the outstanding performance of @sakurahauge made it bearable.#JPN #MNE #JPNMNE #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/3UAti15eCe
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
In Brazil against Hungary, the posssession lengths were at different ends of the spectrum. The Brazilians didn't let themselves be rushed, were more efficient and so prevailed.#BRA #HUN #BRAHUN #Tokyo2020 #olympics #handball pic.twitter.com/tnfIg3XpEF
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
Sweden surprisingly gave the ROC no chance at all. The chances the Swedes created were not of much higher quality than those of the Russians, but they were simply extremely efficient, while the ROC wasn't.#SWE #ROC #SWEROC #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/fVJehK2SBI
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
What an offensive spectacle. Barely any turnovers, the Excpected Goals values are already very high but there were significantly more goals scored, as the Dutch women in particular were incredibly efficient in taking their chances#KOR #NED #KORNED #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/IJ66BGRNJn
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
Clear victory for Norway. They were better everywhere. The clear differences in possession length are clear signs that Norway was able to create good shooting opportunities quite easily, while Angola had problems with that.#ANG #NOR #ANGNOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/52vP1MlD8y
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
In a relatively slow-paced game from both sides, Spain came out on top, although France had the better shots. However, Spain were extremely efficient, which made up for the fact that they had little support from their goalkeepers.#FRA #ESP #FRAESP #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/NzLXwEJ7D2
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 27, 2021
Day 3 – Men
Les Bleus got their second win by playing very fast, thus getting high quality shots and converting them with a very high efficiency.#BRAFRA #FRA #BRA #Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/zkWZQQ7Q14
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
After difficulties at the beginning, GER was the better team overall in all relevant stats (except 7m).
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
A much more detailed analysis will be available later on "Handball in Numbers" with @Luetzeltwitt (available in all podcast apps).#ARG #GER #ARGGER #Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/rk7PxTBKhT
In a rematch of the dramatic QF of the WC, DEN prevailed a little more convincingly this time. The pace was slow, but both teams still managed to get a lot of high percentage shots. @Niklas_Landin once again made the difference in the end.#DEN #EGY #DENEGY #tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/QjE3wkJnzx
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
In another extremely exciting match, Spain narrowly beat Norway. Both teams have very similar stats, very high shot quality but also very strong goalkeeping performances. In the end, the 2nd shot chances were one decisive factor.#ESP #NOR #ESPNOR #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/mOTTOlaY3v
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
The 2nd time Bahrain fell short of a surprise. Again, they took a lot of time in offense to get good shots but couldnt use them efficiently especially due to Capdeville. Adjusted for shot difficulty his performance was outstanding#BRN #POR #BRNPOR #tokyo2020 #olympics #handball pic.twitter.com/1Gqzniv6MU
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
In the last match of the day, Sweden beat the hosts by a narrower margin than probably expected. Although they had more turnovers and fewer rebounds, their xG values were higher, as they got better shots and were more efficiently.#JPN #SWE #JPNSWE #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #handball pic.twitter.com/VNDPYSDlBW
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 26, 2021
Day 2 – Women
In the women's competition the hosts also had no chance against the reigning world champions. In no statistic could they keep up with the Dutch women.#NED #JPN #NEDJPN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/oGQUJSnNLA
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
Montenegro didn't have much trouble in the end with Angola, who committed far too many turnovers. This in turn resulted in few goals, even if the quality and efficiency of the shots were okay.#MNE #ANG #MNEANG #Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/yKVmKwdjLG
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
The numbers of both teams in the 2nd game are simiilar, no wonder it ended in a draw. The GK performances are interesting. The Russians had the better save %, but adjusted for the difficulty of the shots, @babiarenhart was better.#ROC #BRA #ROCBRA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/M3x8csDdA1
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
Norway defeated South Korea in an extremely fast paced game. The many short possessions resulted in many goals, and Norway could also rely on a good goalkeeping performance by Silje Solberg.#NOR #KOR #NORKOR #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handabll pic.twitter.com/yhdS3KUkbj
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
Strong start in the Olympics by the Swedes. The game didn't have many possessions, but they still scored 31 goals, which is a strong 29.2 goals per 50 poss. They used their shots efficiently, had few turnovers and a few 2nd shot chances.#ESP #SWE #ESPSWE #Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/P6KyrsMpN2
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
In the last match of the day, France beat Hungary by a razor-thin margin. According to Expected Goals, it could have been a clearer result, but the Hungarians used their chances more efficiently. Not efficiently enough, though.#HUN #FRA #HUNFRA #Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Handball pic.twitter.com/scI08gJDbl
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 25, 2021
Day 1 – Men
The Handball Part of the Olympic Games started with good Goalkeeper performances on both sides. But Norway managed to get many high quality shots and make even more than expected to win.#NORBRA #NOR #BRA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/z5ueWNI78H
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021
In the second game of the day France beat Argentina without too many problems because they used their chances more efficient and had clearly the better (but still just average) Goalkeeper performance.#FRAARG #FRA #ARG #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/T6kRaZMDXG
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021
Bahrain nearly managed to get the 1st upset of the Olympics against Sweden by playing out their attacks slowly (nearly 10s longer possessions) but efficient. In the end it were turnovers and one missed 7m that decided the game#SWEBRN #SWE #BRN #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/N1EYToiPAx
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021
According to this (simple) xG model, GER should have won. ESP, however, converted more difficult shots better. Also, GER's GK had a better save%, however the efficiency of ESP's GK was higher because they saved more difficult shots#GERSPA #GER #SPA #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/9nUNJ2hxXz
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021
Egypt even defeated Portugal quite clearly. Defensively, Portugal could not keep up at all. Weak goalkeeping and almost no forced turnovers.#POREGY #POR #EGY #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/3LkeWRSWuT
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021
Not much needs to be written about this game. Japan had no chance against Denmark. The bars show that quite impressively.#DENJAP #DEN #JAP #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Handball pic.twitter.com/W555RnLffa
— Handballytics (@handballytics) July 24, 2021