The German handball players also won the final game of the World Cup main round: against Spain National coach Markus Gaugisch’s selection played 29:25 (13:10). Spain would have needed a win to also reach the quarter-finals.
For the DHB team, however, the game was not of great importance as they were already the group winners. In front of a good 10,000 spectators in the sold-out Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Emily Vogel was the most successful German thrower with six goals. Never before had the DHB women played a competitive game at home in front of such a big crowd.
Victory in the main round was the DHB team’s minimum goal. “But nothing more. So far we have nothing. We don’t have to party,” said coach Gaugisch before the game against Spain. The women continue to dream of their first World Cup medal since 2007. The last World Cup victory was more than 30 years ago: in 1993, the selection led by Emily Vogel’s mother Andrea Bölk won gold.
In the quarterfinals they will face the loser of the duel between Olympic champions Norway and Brazil. The two best-placed teams in Main Group IV will compete against each other on Sunday.
