The German handball players are doing well against France. Too many mistakes at the end of both halves resulted in a score of 30:33. 01/16/2024 | 4:48 minutes
It wasn’t Andreas Wolff’s fault. The goalkeeper for the German handball team was once again in top form against France and took many balls away from the opponent; his catch rate was 36 percent. On this basis, his team had made up a four-goal deficit and was even leading eleven minutes before the end. And yet it wasn’t enough. “We reached for the stars,” said the keeper, summing up the dramatic 60 minutes. “But then we missed a kick.”
Mortgage of 0:2 points
The sobering 30:33 (15:17) defeat against the Olympic champion dampened the euphoria in the stands of the Berlin Arena, which was sold out with 13,571 fans. The German handball players are starting the main round of the 16th European Championship in Cologne with a score of 0:2. “We will keep pushing and believe in ourselves until it’s over,” assured playmaker Juri Knorr. National coach Alfred Gislason’s team is now under a lot of pressure. If it wants to reach its stated goal of reaching the semi-finals, it will probably have to win all four games. The first main round opponent on Thursday is Iceland, followed by the surprise team from Austria, Hungary and Croatia. The new location gives the players hope.
Cologne is the mecca of handball. This will be even more gigantic.
Juri Knorr, handball player
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German handball players now have opponents on equal terms
In fact, none of these opponents have the legendary squad quality of the French. “I am convinced that we will win these games,” said left winger Lukas Mertens, adding that they now have opponents on equal terms. But if the semi-finals are to succeed, the national coach will have to spread the burden more widely.
Against France, Gislason almost let his most important professionals play through. Captain Johannes Golla not only fought for every inch of the opposition circle, he also played through the center of the German defense. The same applied to half-left Julian Köster, who was on the field for over 50 minutes, and to director Knorr. “In the end one or two players were tired,” the national coach analyzed after the game.
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Backcourt with little penetration
In fact, the German attack had increasing problems with the strong French defense because it retreated to its own circle and thus hardly allowed the German defenders any space. A strategy that results from the lack of penetration of the German backcourt.
That was the fundamental difference to the French backcourt, where stars like Dika Mem, Nedim Remili and Prandi developed “extremely much pressure” (Gislason) and thus forced the German defense to cover more offensively – and thus the necessary space for the strong pivot Ludovic Fabregas created.
Too many bad passes in the DHB team
The only German professional who has the necessary power and strength in the jump shot in the half-left king position is Sebastian Heymann. Gislason brought him on in the decisive phase, and the Göppingen player actually took the celebrated 27:26 lead in the 49th minute. But after that, the 25-year-old only managed to get shots in dire straits, which is why he failed three times in a row when the score was 27:27.
Handball European Championship on ARD and ZDF
ARD and ZDF broadcast all of the German team’s European Championship games – linear and online. Many other European Championship games can be seen in live streams in the media libraries of the two broadcasters.
The next main round games live on ZDF and on sportstudio.de
- France – Croatia on January 18th / 6 p.m
- Germany – Iceland on January 18th / 8:30 p.m./TV
- Norway – Netherlands on January 19th / 6 p.m
- Denmark – Sweden on January 19th / 8:30 p.m
- France – Austria on January 22nd / 6:00 p.m
- Germany – Hungary on January 22nd / 8:30 p.m./TV
The many bad passes to the circle, which the French brutally punished with quick attacks, were also a result of the lack of power in the German backcourt. The veteran in the half-right backcourt, Kai Häfner, also develops a goal threat, especially with breakthroughs. That was the difference to the French, who, in addition to Mem and Remili, have another shooter, Melvyn Richardson.
DHB team remains confident
None of this is new knowledge; a defeat against the top favorites France had been taken into account before the tournament. The German players have not lost their courage. “We still have every chance,” said Köster before moving to his hometown of Cologne. That’s exactly how Wolff saw it. The defeat, said the keeper, was “not the end of the world”.
2024-01-17 19:00:19
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