Second World Cup preliminary round game: Main round beckons: handball players confident of victory before the Switzerland duel

Whether with Juri Knorr or without the playmaker: For the German handball players, there is no question of anything other than a victory in the second World Cup preliminary round game against Switzerland and the associated entry into the main round.

“If we do our thing, we won’t have any problems. We know how we can beat Switzerland. And I think we’ll do that,” predicted backcourt player Marko Grgic before the duel with the Swiss on Friday (8.30 p.m./ ZDF and Sportdeutschland.TV) in Herning, Denmark.

After the 27:14 at the home European Championship a year ago and the 35:26 in the European Championship qualification in November, the DHB selection goes into the game as the clear favorite, in which Knorr is comfortable despite the knee injury he suffered in the difficult opening win against Poland can participate. National coach Alfred Gislason may also be resting the 24-year-old so as not to take any unnecessary risks for the rest of the tournament.

Wolff warns about Switzerland

Regardless of Knorr’s effort, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff warned against their little neighbors: “Of course the last two results against them were quite clear, but I expect a completely different game. We have to adjust a few things so that we can act more confidently and intelligently in the coming games .”

The 33-year-old top goalkeeper, who was part of the European Championship triumph in 2016, knows about the dangers that lurk on the desired path to the knockout phase of the final round. “If you lose a game, it could be the quarter-finals. You need the points and you can’t allow yourself to slip up,” warned Wolff.

Uscins: The final phase against Poland has to be the benchmark

For left winger Lukas Mertens, one thing is clear: “We have to approach every game with 100 percent and not waste a minute. Just like we did at the Olympics.” Above all, the connection between defense and goalkeepers needs to improve. “Against Poland, we often let Andi down in the first half,” admitted Mertens.

Despite all his self-criticism, backcourt ace Renars Uscins appealed to his teammates not to badmouth the performance against Poland. “We shouldn’t argue too much with ourselves now, but we have to take the lightness of the last 15 minutes with us,” demanded last year’s whiz kid.