National handball coach Alfreð Gíslason is heading into the home European Championships in January with four European champions from 2016, four U21 world champions and one newcomer. He nominated a total of 19 players with whom he will begin their immediate preparation for the tournament next Wednesday at a course in Frankfurt am Main. The DHB still has two test games against Portugal until the start of the tournament on January 10th.
From the European Championship win almost eight years ago, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, left winger Rune Dahmke, backcourt player Kai Häfner and pivot Jannik Kohlbacher are still there. From the U21 team that won the world championship title in July, the squad includes goalkeeper David Späth, backcourt players Renars Uscins and Nils Lichtlein and pivot Justus Fischer. The 20-year-old Fischer is also the youngest player in the European Championship squad. 22-year-old left back player Martin Hanne from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf will celebrate his debut in the national jersey at the European Championships.
The German team will be missing three veterans, including the injured backcourt players Paul Drux and Fabian Wiede. Cyclist Hendrik Pekeler also canceled his participation in the tournament. In the event of absences during the tournament, the national coach can nominate additional players from a pool of 35 players.
Handball-EM 2024
The German European Championship squad
Tor: David Späth (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Andreas Wolff (Industria Kielce)
Left wing: Rune Dahmke (THW Kiel), Lukas Mertens (SC Mageburg)
Back area left: Martin Hanne (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf), Sebastian Heymann (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Julian Köster (VfL Gummersbach)
Backspace left/center: Philipp Weber (SC Magdeburg)
Back center: Juri Knorr (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Nils Lichtlein (Füchse Berlin), Marian Michalczik (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf)
Back area right: Kai Häfner (TVB Stuttgart), Renars Uscins (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf)
Backcourt right/right wing: Christoph Steinert (HC Erlangen)
Right winger: Patrick Groetzki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Timo Kastening (MT Melsungen)
Kreis: Justus Fischer (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf), Jonannes Golla (SG Flensburg-Handewitt), Jannik Kohlbacher (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)
“We have a really strong team that has very high quality and self-confidence and knows that the outstanding German home crowd has their backs,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer about the squad. Gíslason said: “I’m looking forward to our team, the work in preparation and the tournament itself.”
The DHB team will face Switzerland, North Macedonia and record world champion France in the European Championship preliminary round. The first two teams in the group reach the main round. The tournament runs from January 10th to 28th.
National handball coach Alfreð Gíslason is heading into the home European Championships in January with four European champions from 2016, four U21 world champions and one newcomer. He nominated a total of 19 players with whom he will begin their immediate preparation for the tournament next Wednesday at a course in Frankfurt am Main. The DHB still has two test games against Portugal until the start of the tournament on January 10th.
From the European Championship win almost eight years ago, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, left winger Rune Dahmke, backcourt player Kai Häfner and pivot Jannik Kohlbacher are still there. From the U21 team that won the world championship title in July, the squad includes goalkeeper David Späth, backcourt players Renars Uscins and Nils Lichtlein and pivot Justus Fischer. The 20-year-old Fischer is also the youngest player in the European Championship squad. 22-year-old left back player Martin Hanne from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf will celebrate his debut in the national jersey at the European Championships.
