New boss: Emily Bölk (2nd from left) was again strong in attack and defense against Hungary
Photo: dpa/Marco Wolf
It goes without saying that the quality of the opponents in a tournament increases from game to game – actually. At the World Cup in Spain, the German handball women will start the main round this Wednesday, however, before a task that should be the easiest so far. After the narrow but well-deserved 25:24 success in the final preliminary match against Hungary on Monday evening, the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) starts against the Republic of the Congo in the second tournament phase, before the following games against South Korea and Denmark decide whether the Germans this time make it to the quarter-finals.
Of course, nobody talks about it in public, but the team from the Republic of the Congo does not have the level of the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary that German women have so far faced in Spain. With a surprising success against Tunisia, the players from Central Africa made it into the main round, but had previously suffered significant defeats against South Korea and Denmark. For national coach Henk Groener and his team, this offers the opportunity to start the second phase of the World Cup relatively smoothly after the move from Valencia to Barcelona on Tuesday. The German women had “earned” the start against the African women by defeating Hungary. “It will be our job to show our opponents that handball is on a different level in Germany,” said Groener, before he and his team set off for Barcelona by bus. The main round games are played in Granollers, not far from the capital of Catalonia.
New management duo
In Lliria near Valencia, the German players had created the perfect starting position for the main round – because they were able to stay strong when they were challenged for the first time in the days on the Iberian Peninsula. “That makes us feel good because we know we can win even close matches,” said Alina Grijseels. The captain got on the bus with “a lot of self-confidence”. Her colleagues fared similar, which had a lot to do with the new leadership duo of the German team. In addition to Grijseels, Emily Bölk, the co-captain, rose to be the leader in the decisive phase of the game.
At the European Championships a year ago, Kim Naidzinavicius and Julia Behnke set the tone on and off the field. The talented younger players like Grijseels and Bölk came in behind. After the two leaders said goodbye to the national team because they did not agree with the leadership style of the national coach, a power vacuum arose that the successors were supposed to fill – and have been doing so far.
Grijseels and Bölk have been the most important figures in the German national team for a few months. Now, at the World Cup in Spain, they are about to confirm this with performance. In the final ten minutes of the game against Hungary, when it was completely open how the battle of nerves would end, they carried the team to victory. Four of the last five goals were scored by the duo, who hadn’t been so much in focus in previous tournaments. Bölk received a relatively large amount of media attention due to her extraordinarily great talent, but only at this world championship will she live up to her possibilities with dominant appearances. In the attack, the 23-year-old impresses with her assertiveness – in a duel between women and women, the right-hander cannot be stopped and creates space for the teammates through her presence alone.
Work without applause
“I am super happy after this fight until the last second,” said Bölk, who not only impressed in attack with her own goals and clever allusions, but is also responsible for the defense in the tournament so far as part of the inner block fills the parade role in the game of the Germans. There is seldom applause for work in cover, but it is at least as important to success. Against the team from the Republic of the Congo, it can be assumed that Bölk and Grijseels will be able to recover on the bench over the course of the game. Because the strength of the new bosses will again be important in the games against South Korea and Denmark.
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