The Olympic ambitions of German handball players have suffered a severe setback. The team of national coach Alfred Gislason, whose contract is only extended until 2027 if they qualify, lost their second group game against Croatia 30:33 (10:16) on Saturday.
Due to the shockingly weak performance in the first half, the DHB team missed revenge for the European Championship defeat in January as well as an optimal starting position before the final game on Sunday (2:10 p.m. on ARD and Dyn) against Austria.
In front of 10,099 spectators, Renars Uscins was once again the best scorer with eight goals for the German selection, which made countless mistakes in attack two days after the opening win against Algeria. The chance of taking part in the Olympics still remains high. A win over Austria should be enough on Sunday. Only the two best teams from the group of four will go to the Summer Games in France.
Knowledge advantage helps
Germany’s handball players went into the duel with Croatia with a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. Nobody knew how the selection from the Balkan state would perform under their new coach Dagur Sigurdsson. The Icelander, however, knew German handball very well from his time as national coach.
The supposed advantage in knowledge helped. The DHB team started very nervously and, as at the European Championships, they despaired of Croatia’s keeper Dominik Kuzmanovic. Rejected seven-meter penalties and countless technical errors led to simple ball losses, which the European Championship eleven quickly took advantage of to take a 5-1 and later 16-9 lead. Only goalkeeper Andi Wolff showed a decent performance.
At backcourt player Julian Köster’s 24th birthday, the German team lacked physicality and emotionality. The defense offered little resistance and the weak Bundesliga form of playmaker Juri Knorr was also reflected in the national team. The exploitation of opportunities remained catastrophic until the break.
Uscins revives the offensive game
Fueled by the home crowd, the DHB team appeared much more committed after the change. Playmaker Marian Michalczik and Co. now fought more intensely and the deficit shrank to three goals (17:20). Substitute Sebastian Heymann with his tough throws and uscins in his home hall livened up the offensive game.
Germany was now in the game and suddenly Croatia was wobbling. Jannik Kohlbacher sent the fans into ecstasy with his goal to make it 21:23 in the middle of the second half. Even though every throw from the U21 world champion Uscins ended up in the goal during this phase, Croatia picked itself up again.
Frank Heike, Hanover Published/Updated: Frank Heike, Hanover Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Christian Kamp, Cologne Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
Things got more intense in the final phase and Heymann was shown a red card after a foul. Eight minutes before the end of the game, the guests took the lead again with four goals – and maintained their lead until the end. Germany urgently needs an improvement in performance and a win against Austria.
