Germany’s handball players are in Olympic form in their victory against European champions France. In Dortmund, a world-class handball player says goodbye. The DHB women must improve.
With a win over European champions France, Germany’s handball players have boosted their confidence two weeks before their Olympic opening match. In French star player Nikola Karabatic’s last game on German soil, the DHB team won 35:30 (19:15) and sent a big exclamation mark to the Olympic competition. The best scorers for national coach Alfred Gislason’s team in Dortmund were Tim Hornke and Franz Semper, each scoring five goals.
The DHB women had previously lost 31:36 (17:20) to Brazil in front of 10,105 spectators at the same venue. On the way to Paris, the German handball team will make a stopover in Stuttgart next weekend. The dress rehearsal will take place there. The men will play their last test matches against Hungary and Japan, while the women will face Hungary and Brazil again at the same venue.
Farewell for Karabatic
For Gislason, the showdown with what is probably the best team in the world was a “taking stock”. For Karabatic, it was his last appearance in the country where he matured into a three-time world handball player with THW Kiel. After the Olympic Games, the 40-year-old will end his career, which has been decorated with world championship and European championship titles. Karabatic hardly made an impression in Saturday’s game.
After the defeats at the 2023 World Cup and the European Championships at home this year, the German handball players wanted to show the French that they had taken another step forward in their development on the way to Paris. The German selection started accordingly eagerly and with a lot of speed. Thanks to Tim Hornke, who was preferred to Timo Kastening on the right wing, and goalkeeper Andi Wolff, Germany quickly took the lead with 11:6.
Gislason was pleased with the few technical errors on the sidelines – and the goal threat that his team developed, especially from the circle and the wing players. The fact that the backcourt players around Julian Köster initially lacked accuracy was of little consequence, because the French seemed anything but well-rehearsed.
After the break, Germany slacked off, especially in attack, and the Olympic hosts came within one goal (24:23). Goalkeeper David Späth made some strong saves to ensure that the game did not tip over and the DHB team extended their lead again with a more concentrated offensive performance.
DHB women lack aggressiveness
The German women need to improve their performance if they want to survive the group phase in their first Olympic appearance since 2008. Against Brazil, the DHB team revealed major weaknesses in defense. They lacked aggression in one-on-one situations. The fear of getting injured so close to the Olympics seemed great.
“We are in the middle of preparation. We focused on the offensive game in the training phases,” national coach Markus Gaugisch tried to calm things down and said with a view to the Olympics: “No reason to worry.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
