“Germany’s Handball Players Secure Main Round Ticket at World Cup with Win by Outstanding Backup Keeper Joel Birlehm”

Germany’s handball players attacked Joel Birlehm. Then they danced wildly in circles with their outstanding “substitute goalkeeper” and joined the German fans in singing the evergreen “Oh, how beautiful that is”.

Thanks to offensive fireworks and match winner Birlehm, the team of national coach Alfred Gislason defeated Serbia in the highly exciting key game of the preliminary round with 34:33 (19:17) and bought the ticket for the World Cup main round early.

“Joel was outstanding. Especially in the final phase he showed his strengths and proved why we took him with us,” said Gislason on the ARD microphone.

Juri Knorr praises the modest match winner Birlehm

Regular keeper Andreas Wolff was “extremely happy for Joel. It shows that we need everyone.” When things didn’t go as usual for Wolff on Sunday evening, Birlehm slipped into the leading role and scored two big points with his saves in the fight for the desired quarter-finals.

“Joel saved our ass today,” said playmaker Juri Knorr. Birlehm himself was reticent: “I’m happy that I was able to help the team. I’m just super happy that we won the game.”

Merten’s best thrower for the DHB

The German team also impressed in the extremely fast-paced second World Cup game with a brilliant attacking game. Especially on the offensive, the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) offered their best performance for a long time. The best German throwers in front of around 2,500 spectators in Katowice were left winger Lukas Mertens (7) and captain Johannes Golla (6).

“Today I am a very happy national coach”, Gislason summed up, “because we knew how important this game was”. His team “played very, very well” up front, but “simply conceded too many goals” at the back.

Birlehm: “Don’t be lazy”

After the opening win against Asian champions Qatar (31:27), the DHB men increased their score to 4:0 points on Sunday evening. The two victories against the supposedly strongest opponents in the preliminary round group E increase the chances of the knockout round considerably, since the points against the teams from the preliminary round, which are also qualified, are taken into the next tournament phase. “It feels incredibly good,” said Knorr.

On Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., the German team will play the final round against the blatant outsiders Algeria. “We mustn’t sit back and relax now, we’ll carry on as usual,” said Birlehm.

DHB team with a strong bank

It was neither Wolff nor Knorr, who was also outstanding against Qatar, who left their mark on the German game against Serbia. At the back, defense chief Golla and his teammates lacked access here and there, but up front the DHB seven impressed with their merciless efficiency. Whether Golla, Kai Häfner or Mertens from Magdeburg: almost every throw found its way into the Serbian goal.

In the final phase, it was players like substitute pivot Jannik Kohlbacher, youngster Julian Köster or Birlehm, who now slipped into the lead roles and secured the win. “In the main round,” announced winger Mertens combatively, “everything is possible. We have to improve our defense significantly, then we still have potential to improve.”