National team: Trip to Türkiye as the last World Cup casting for German handball players

After the German handball players’ brilliant start to the European Championship qualification, Alfred Gislason declared the upcoming compulsory task in Turkey to be the last World Cup casting. “Of course, the World Cup nomination plays a role in the back of our minds. Some players who are currently missing certainly have a good chance of being at the World Cup. The players who are now there should show themselves and put pressure on the seasoned players.” said the national coach before the trip to Ankara: “Every good performance counts.”

The game on Sunday (3:10 p.m./ARD) is the last appearance of the DHB selection before Gislason nominates his squad for the World Cup in January 2025 in December. The framework is of course in place, but a few places in the squad for the finals in Denmark, Croatia and Norway are still vacant.

“There’s a lot of competition in the national team. That’s a good thing, because it pushes everyone to the maximum and squeezes out the last few percent. Now is the phase where everyone can offer themselves,” said director Luca Witzke, giving his vote for the Turkey game the route: “We want to continue to get used to it and bring the guys who haven’t been there so often recently into the processes so that we can grow as a team.”

DHB team receives boost from Olympic silver

This already worked well in the convincing 35:26 win against Switzerland. The defense with a strong Andreas Wolff in goal stood secure for long periods despite the loss of Julian Köster and in attack the team impressed with a lot of enthusiasm even without the injured top playmaker Juri Knorr. “We worked as a team and were able to pick up where we left off at the Olympics at times. We are able to consistently perform at a high level,” summed up Witzke.

The strong performance in front of 12,721 fans was evidence that the DHB selection has matured further and that the players’ self-confidence and self-image have increased thanks to Olympic silver. “The Olympics helped us move forward as a team,” said captain Johannes Golla.

Gislason sees it that way too. “The development is very positive. The breadth of the squad is getting better and better,” said the national coach with satisfaction. And left winger Lukas Mertens from German champions SC Magdeburg said: “You can see that we are very broadly positioned and have enough top people, even if Knorr and Köster are missing. There is no need to worry about the future in handball Germany.”

Victory in Turkey is a must

This assessment should be reinforced against Turkey. “We are traveling there as favorites and want to show a good performance in order to take the next step towards the European Championship,” said Golla, formulating the goal. And backcourt player Sebastian Heymann added: “We want to perform similarly confidently and get the next two points, even though we’re sure to be in a hot atmosphere there.”

But the task will certainly not be a sure-fire success. “When the Turks get into the mood, almost everything works for them if you let it. So we have to be careful,” warned Gislason and demanded: “It is important that we act with the same concentration as we did against Switzerland.”