Slovenia finished fourth in the men's handball tournament at the Paris Olympics after losing a nail-biter semifinal against Denmark and just as dramatic bronze medal match against Spain by a single goal each time.

The national team put in a great and brave performance and were very close to clinching Slovenia's first ever Olympic medal in team sports, but had to concede a 22:23 defeat to Spain on the last day of the Games on 11 August.

The matinee match saw a battle of two equals in particular in the first half, which ended in a 12:12 tie after Slovenia lost their opening game of the tournament 22:25 to Spain.

Slovenia goalkeeper Klemen Ferlin shone in a nervous and tense opening of the match, blocking six Spanish shots at the gate in the first 15 minutes. Slovenia took their first lead in the 8th minute at 3:2, and were two goals ahead in the 14th minute, at 6:4.

After posting a two-goal deficit twice (8:10 and 10:12), Slovenia came back to equalise at 12:12 before half-time.

Back in court, Slovenia were down to two-goal deficits twice (12:14 and 13:15), but managed to catch up with Spain again as the injured Aleks Vlah contributed two goals for his team to equalise at 15:15 and 16:16.

The game continued goal by goal. Spain took the lead, but Slovenia equalised right away. That streak ended in the 51st minute, when Vlah tied the score at 19:19, Domen Novak stole the ball, found Tilin Kodrin on the counter-attack and he scored for 20:19, Slovenia's first lead since the 19th minute of the match. Unfortunately, it would turn out to be their last.

In a dramatic finish Slovenia had an extra player on court after Miguel Sanchez-Migallon was sent off, but failed to take advantage of it. Vlah sent the ball over the woodwork and Spain went up to 21:23 after Alex Dujshebaev's goal in the 58th minute.

Slovenia captain Jure Dolenec reduced the deficit to 22:23 after his sixth goal from the seven-metre penalty, and after Spain squandered their attack, Slovenia's head coach Uroš Zorman called for a timeout. He brought in a seventh player but Slovenia failed to tie for an extra time due to a poorly executed last attempt through Borut Mačkovšek.

Dolenc was Slovenia's best scorer with six goals and Blaž Janc added five, while goalkeeper Ferlin posting eleven saves.

"We had our opportunities but did some stupid mistakes at crucial moments. We can analyse and be smart now, but my players gave their best and can proudly return home," head coach Zorman told RTV Slovenija after the match.

Despite the defeat, their fourth place matches that of the men's basketball team at the Tokyo Games three years ago for Slovenia's best result in team sports at the Olympics.

It is also an improvement on the men's handball team's sixth place in Rio 2016. They finished eighth in Sydney 2000 and 11th in Athens 2004.