Germany’s handball players started the European Championship with a victory. The two-time European champion won 30:27 (12:8) in Herning, Denmark Austria through and took a first step towards the main round.
The best German thrower was captain Johannes Golla with seven goals in front of 5,820 spectators in the Jyske Bank Boxen. After a strong start and a quick three-goal lead, national coach Alfred Gíslason’s team never gave up the lead. In a first half that was strong defensively by both teams, both teams had to fight hard for every goal.
“Boys, it’s a phenomenal defense. We’re wearing them down,” Gíslason cheered on his players during a timeout a few minutes before halftime when the score was 11:7. We went into halftime with a four-goal lead. “I’m very happy with the first half,” said team manager Benjamin Chatton, praising the selection from the German Handball Federation (DHB) on ARD.
The game continued in a similar way in the second half: at 17:12 in the 39th minute of the game, the German team was five goals ahead for the first time. The DHB selection did not allow itself to be unsettled by the opponent’s attempt to catch up and saved their lead over time.
Games against Serbia and Spain
The German team will play the other preliminary round games in Group A on Saturday against Serbia and on Monday against Spain. Only the first two teams in the preliminary group reach the second phase of the tournament, in which the points are taken against the team that also qualified. The minimum goal of the DHB selection is to reach the semi-finals.
