Germany versus the Netherlands always has a lot of explosiveness, especially in football. Now the neighbors duel at the Handball World Championship. The DHB team can already solve the ticket for the quarterfinals.
A few minutes after the 39:19 gala against Argentina, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff gave the motto for the upcoming World Cup cracker of the German handball team against the Netherlands.
“It’s a neighborhood duel that doesn’t have the same classic character as in football. There’s a greater rivalry there,” said Wolff before the second main round game of the DHB selection on Saturday (8:30 p.m. / ZDF) in Katowice. “But of course we want to send our neighbors home.”
National coach Alfred Gislason didn’t want to get involved in arithmetic games, but they aren’t even necessary. If they win, the German team will be in the knockout phase of the tournament in Poland and Sweden, which has been so promising so far. “Of course it feels good to have everything in our own hands. We worked hard to get a good starting position and want to make it to the quarter-finals on our own,” said captain Johannes Golla.
DHB team with a clean slate
Germany and Norway lead Group 3 with 6:0 points each, followed by the Netherlands (4:2). Serbia, Qatar and Argentina are already out of the running.
Even in the event of a defeat against the Oranje team, the DHB selection would still have another chance at the end of the main round against Norway to make progress perfectly. But nobody wants to risk that. “We will do everything we can to win,” promised Gislason.
However, his charges will have to deal with a completely different caliber than against Argentina. “The Dutch are really good, they switch from defense to attack very quickly. We have to do a lot of things right to win,” warned the national coach. Wolff is also certain: “It won’t be a sure-fire success.”
Especially since the opponent is dying to trip up the big neighbor. “Many of us play in the Bundesliga. We want to show that we can play handball well,” said Dani Baijens from HSV Hamburg. And Kay Smits from the German champions SC Magdeburg emphasized: “Germany against Holland is always a big fight. We are ready and very keen.”
Source: Stern
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