Handball World Cup defeat against Denmark: German team under pressure

The Olympic revenge failed to materialize. Germany’s handball players suffered their first defeat of the tournament in the World Cup clash against defending champions Denmark and thus a small setback on the way to the quarter-finals. At a clear 30:40 (18:24) in front of 15,000 fans in Herning, national coach Alfred Gislason’s team had to acknowledge the superiority of the gold favorite despite an improved offensive performance.

The best throwers for the DHB selection were Julian Köster and Timo Kastening with six goals each. Behind the Olympic champion and co-host from Denmark (6:0), who won their 32nd World Cup game in a row, the German team, second in the group, now has 4:2 points, like Italy.

The upcoming duel with the Italians, who had previously celebrated their third victory in this final round with a 25:18 win against the Czech Republic, already has a final character for the DHB selection. A defeat on Thursday would practically mean the end of the Olympic runner-up in the main round before the final game against Tunisia and thus the premature end of all medal dreams.

With two wins in the remaining main round games, the DHB team would get their ticket to the quarter-finals on their own. “If we lose, our chances are still very good because we still have everything in our hands,” playmaker Juri Knorr said before the game against the Danes.

In the new edition of the Olympic final, which was clearly lost 26:39, Gislason initially relied on David Späth in goal, who had shone against the Czech Republic at the end of the preliminary round. The DHB team had little to counter the Danish attack from the start and was behind by three goals after less than four minutes.

Knorr & Co. fought with all their might against the Danes’ fast-paced handball. But they couldn’t stop the big World Cup favorite. At 12:7 the home team were ahead by five goals for the first time. At least things went better in attack than in the preliminary round games, in which the DHB selection had shown enormous teething problems.

In addition, Germany presented a significantly improved performance in the seven-meter game. Kastening safely converted four of five penalty throws in the first half. But the DHB players had no access to the defense.

When the Danes made it 16:10, Gislason reacted by changing the goalkeeper. Andreas Wolff came on for Späth, but was largely as unlucky as his teammate. World handball players Mathias Gidsel & Co. repeatedly combined through the German defense. At halftime the game was already decided.

Even after the change, the Danes, cheered on frenetically by their enthusiastic fans, dominated and mercilessly exploited the large gaps in the German defense. The often powerless Wolff repeatedly shrugged his shoulders in disbelief. The DHB team gained hope again at 22:26, ​​but the turnaround was no longer successful. Denmark was simply too strong for that.