Handball-EM
Match point for the semi-finals: Does Wolff exist in the red hell?
Germany’s handball players are still one win away from the medal game. But now one of “the best teams in history” awaits. An opponent that the DHB team has suffered from for ten years.
The handball world was still bowing to Andreas Wolff when Germany’s national goalkeeper made an urgent appeal to his teammates. “Now comes one of the best teams in history. We have to step up our game, especially in attack, because the Danes won’t let such mistakes go unpunished,” explained the DHB hero before the cracking duel with the Scandinavians and added with a critical undertone: “If we start playing attack now, then I’ll be very happy.”
Germany has its first of two match point games this Monday (8.30 p.m./ARD/Dyn). A success against Denmark – it would be the first competitive win in ten years – and national coach Alfred Gislason’s selection is definitely fighting for its first European Championship medal since the 2016 title. One thing is clear: a world-class performance from Wolff alone, like in the win against Norway, is not enough for the European Championship coup. This requires a collective increase in performance.
Wolff criticizes “lack of cleverness”
What particularly annoyed Wolff, in addition to the numerous missed throws, was the number of rebounds that landed on the opponent. “And here and there a lack of cleverness – at the front and at the back,” Wolff criticized those in front of him. Almost at the same time, they outdid each other in superlatives when they described their goalkeeper’s performance at 30:28.
Sometimes Wolff stretched his leg upwards at an almost 180-degree angle, another time he guided the resin ball past the goal with his fingertips. Everything from “phenomenal” to “world class” to “the best goalkeeper in the world” was heard. Backcourt player Marko Grgic made 22 saves and a rate of 44 percent of balls blocked: “He just saved our asses again.”
The starting position: Will Germany remain first in the group?
The promising look at the group of six has German fans dreaming of the semi-finals. Finally, the DHB team leads the table with six points ahead of France and Denmark (4 each) as well as Portugal and Norway (2 each) and bottom team Spain (0). That means: The Olympic silver medalist has it in his own hands and still needs a win from the remaining two games against Denmark and France.
“The starting position is perfect. That’s what we wanted. If someone had offered it to us before the tournament, we would have taken it the same way,” said playmaker Juri Knorr, who, unlike Wolff, had a disappointing European Championship. Backcourt player Renars Uscins spoke of a privilege to be able to miss another game. And even Gislason, who was threatened with leaving the coach after the Serbia debacle, had to admit with a laugh when looking at the starting situation: “It could have been worse. We all know that.”
The red wall becomes a test of endurance
The “over-favorite” is waiting in Denmark, as Wolff described the successful title collectors from the neighboring country. There is also a huge crowd of 15,000 fans waiting. In the duel between the top favorites and France, the red wall provided a foretaste of the dimensions of noise that are possible. It is not for nothing that Jyske Bank Boxen is known as the “Hell of Herning”.
“We’ll see whether the atmosphere in the hall is an advantage or a disadvantage for the Danes,” said Wolff with a smile. Denmark coach Nikolaj Jacobsen had previously emphasized that the team was feeling the pressure from the stands. Uscins said: “That gives me something. You enjoy this atmosphere, this whistling, this pressure,” said the backcourt player and remembered the German Olympic miracle in Lille: “Having everyone against you, I already had a great game in France.”
When was the last win against Denmark?
The last competitive win against Denmark came at the 2016 European Championship. Since then there have only been defeats, which were sometimes humiliating. For example, in the final of the 2024 Olympic Games, when Germany was completely dismantled at 26:39. Or at the World Cup last year, when Denmark won 40:30.
“This is the best team in the world. They have the best players in the world,” said Grgic, summing up the herculean task. After his seven goals against Norway, Germany’s shooting star is in top form just in time for the Denmark highlight. “Now everyone has arrived in the tournament,” said Gislason, after Franz Semper and Nils Lichtlein also showed good performances in the backcourt.
Denmark is playing against the European Championship curse
Assistant coach Erik Wudtke tried to encourage the team. “You probably lose nine out of ten games, but the Danes don’t know when the tenth is.” But how do you defeat a team that is almost unbeatable? The Danish star ensemble around world handball player Mathias Gidsel is Olympic champion and world champion – and yet has a flaw: the golden generation is having a hard time at European championships.
The last title was 14 years ago. And that really bothers the co-host. “This is a big topic for us. We finally want to win this tournament,” said captain Magnus Saugstrup from SC Magdeburg. There are no secrets between Denmark and Germany. After all, almost all Danes play in the Bundesliga. “We know the German players from everyday life. It’s a small final against our friends,” said Gidsel. At prime time on Monday, the friendship is on hold.
dpa
