Germany’s women’s handball team is on the verge of being eliminated from the Olympic Games. Their attacking performance against Sweden was better, but not good. Two top Scandinavian teams are still waiting.
With stony faces and bowed heads, Germany’s handball players slunk out of the hall after the next setback in the fight for a place in the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games. Unlike the convincing DHB men, who had prevailed against Sweden on Saturday, the selection of national coach Markus Gaugisch lost to the Three Crowns team 28:31 (12:19) and is now under enormous pressure.
In order to maintain a chance of progressing, the German Handball Federation team must win its next match against Slovenia on Tuesday. Another defeat would mean an early exit. Other opponents are the top Scandinavian teams Denmark and Norway. “We are only looking at ourselves and not at the others. We still have it in our own hands,” said national coach Markus Gaugisch about the situation.
“It’s not over yet and we can continue,” Julia Maidhof confirmed. The backcourt player was the best German scorer, along with co-captain Alina Grijseels and right winger Jenny Behrend (all 5 goals). From the point of view of backcourt player Emily Bölk, the positive thing was “that we fought for 60 minutes.” But that was not enough against the fourth-placed team in the World Cup.
The German handball players had already been clearly defeated by the Swedes in the quarter-finals at the World Championships in December. After another defeat in front of around 5,700 spectators in Paris, the DHB team is in last place in Group A with 0:4 points. “It’s extremely disappointing,” said center Julia Behnke. The four best teams from each of the two groups of six will reach the quarter-finals.
Lack of exploitation of opportunities
After the bitter opening defeat against South Korea, Gaugisch announced a clear analysis of the mistakes. The speech only had a limited effect. The weaknesses in attack were no longer as glaring, but the lack of utilization of opportunities remained an integral part of the German game. After weak finishes and strong saves by the Swedish goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen, the sixth-placed team in the World Cup had to let the Scandinavians pull away to 13:7.
This time the defense revealed too many gaps and the Swedes were able to score from any position, leaving Gaugisch despairing on the sidelines. The 50-year-old’s loud screams could be heard throughout the hall. The statistics at the end of the first half showed the biggest difference: while the DHB women did not even use every second chance, the Swedes’ efficiency was almost 90 percent.
DHB team with new tactics
After the break, the game developed into a game of equal equals. Germany’s ability to exploit opportunities was still in need of improvement, and the Swedes’ concentration dropped significantly during fast counterattacks. In order to have more options in attack, Gaugisch opted for a seven-on-six system – another field player came onto the court for the goalkeeper.
The DHB women took advantage of the World Cup fourth-place team’s weak phase and closed the gap to four goals. Then too many mistakes crept into the German game again. In the end, the burden from the first half was too great. “If you go in with such a package, it’s just going to be difficult,” Gaugisch summed up.
Source: Stern
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