Handball World Cup
Thanks to Wolff: handball player with a shaking win against Switzerland
The German handball players also won their second World Cup preliminary round game and are in the main round early. As at the start, the DHB team is having an enormously difficult time.
Germany’s handball players only completed their second compulsory task at the World Cup with great difficulty and secured their ticket for the main round early. In the lucky 31:29 (15:14) tremor victory in the neighboring duel with Switzerland, national coach Alfred Gislason’s team performed well below normal form and was by no means ready for a medal.
In front of more than 7,000 fans in Herning, Denmark, Julian Köster was the best scorer with seven goals for the Olympic silver medalist, who leads Group A with 4-0 points after the 35:28 opening win against Poland. At the end of the preliminary round on Sunday, the DHB selection will face the Czech Republic (2:2 points) and will have to make a lot of progress as the tournament progresses.
Weak start without Knorr
As announced, playmaker Juri Knorr was in the squad after his knee injury from the Poland game. The 24-year-old from Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen initially remained on the bench. “He trained a bit, moved around a bit. I think he’s fully operational,” said Gislason on ZDF before kick-off.
Luca Witzke from Leipzig took over the direction of the German game for Knorr, but it got off to an extremely slow start. Technical errors and many missed throws characterized the nervous starting phase in which the DHB team did not find its rhythm.
Unlike the clear victories last year – 27:14 at the home European Championship and 35:26 in the European Championship qualification – Germany was behind from the start. At 2:5 (11th), Gislason took an early timeout and then sent Knorr to the floor. “We scored two goals in ten minutes. Attack – that’s the problem,” complained the national coach.
Wolff keeps the DHB team in the game
However, it took until the 20th minute before Germany equalized at 7:7. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff played a major role in this, as he ironed out the mistakes of those in front of him with a number of brilliant saves. The 33-year-old, who was part of the sensational European Championship triumph in 2016, delivered a class performance.
Eight minutes before the break, the German team took their first lead at 9:8, but could not extend it until the end of the first half. This was mainly due to the large gaps in the defense, which the Swiss repeatedly used to score easy goals and thus caused annoyance for Wolff.
Same picture after the break
Even with the restart, the DHB selection’s game didn’t get any better. On the contrary: the narrow lead quickly turned into a two-goal deficit. Only goalkeeper Wolff could be relied on. Ten minutes before the end everything was open at 25:25. In the dramatic final phase, the favorite held his nerve and narrowly made it to the finish.
dpa
Source: Stern
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