The German women’s handball players are trembling their way into the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games. It will be loud there, because the DHB team is playing against an entire nation.
After a long wait in front of their screens in the Olympic Village, Germany’s handball players experienced the liberating quarter-finals. Despite four defeats in five preliminary round matches, the DHB team secured fourth place in Group A thanks to support from the competition and thus booked their ticket for the knockout round. In the battle for the semi-finals, national coach Markus Gaugisch’s team will now challenge world champions France on Tuesday in the cauldron of Lille.
“Perhaps the change of location is a good thing for us,” said backcourt player Xenia Smits after the clear 18:30 defeat against European champions Norway in the final group match. “I’m not working hard to get here and then get slaughtered. We have to rebuild that winning mentality,” demanded the leading player before the move to Lille.
Only because Denmark then beat South Korea did the DHB women fight their way into the quarter-finals, albeit with some delay. The decisive factor was the better goal difference compared to the teams from Slovenia and South Korea, who had the same number of points.
DHB sports director Axel Kromer was anything but satisfied with the German team’s performances so far. Nevertheless, it is a sport based on results and the team is in the quarter-finals, Kromer stated, adding: “It can be said that after the intensive preparation we would have hoped for greater stability.”
Looking forward to the football stadium
The German handball players had lost a good starting position with the surprising opening defeat against South Korea. Further setbacks followed against Sweden, Denmark and finally Norway. Only the 41:22 landslide victory against Slovenia saved the sixth-placed team at the World Championships, which is fighting for medals at the Olympic Games for the first time since 2008.
To celebrate the first victory against France since 2011, more than just an improvement in performance is needed. “It has to look very, very different in the quarter-finals,” demanded Smits. The anticipation of the incredible crowd in the OSC Lille football stadium in front of over 20,000 spectators is huge.
Collapse after lightning start
The minimum goal has been achieved by reaching the quarter-finals. However, the shockingly weak performance against Norway makes a coup against France seem almost impossible. National coach Gaugisch described his players’ performance as “clearly inferior”.
Two days after an encouraging performance against Denmark (29:30), Germany presented a disappointing performance. After a 3:0 run at the start, the DHB women collapsed completely. The passes became increasingly inaccurate, the finishes weaker. Only goalkeeper Katharina Filter had a good day and prevented worse with impressive saves. “Our performance was not convincing. We were really overrun. We cannot stand like that,” Smits criticized the team’s performance.
For years, the DHB women have been trying to close the gap to the top teams like France, Denmark and Norway. In some duels, the DHB team is close – but in the end they lack the consistency to really beat the big teams. Maybe everything will come together on Tuesday against France. “The cards will be reshuffled,” announced Smits aggressively.
Source: Stern
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