The German national handball team has the final of the European Championship against the top favorites and hosts Denmark lost. Coach Alfred Gíslason’s DHB team lost 27:34 in Herning. Germany once again had to admit defeat to the top favorites in the final, but can look forward to their second silver medal within two years. In front of 15,000 spectators, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a strong performance from goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and five goals each from Johannes Golla, Juri Knorr and Marko Grgić were not enough to make the gold dream come true.
The German team was only briefly in the lead in the first half, with scores of 4:5 and 5:6. After that, the Danes were mostly ahead, leading 18:16 at the break. They took their first four-goal lead at 26:22, and the Germans were no longer able to make up for this deficit, on the contrary. In the final minutes the Danes made the result clear. Two referee decisions weakened the German team: defense specialist Tom Kiesler was shown a red card in the early stages after a foul on Gidsel, as was pivot Jannik Kohlbacher a few minutes before the final whistle.
The Danes were able to end their European Championship curse and be crowned European champions for the first time since 2012. For the DHB team it would have been the third European title after 2004 and 2016. Germany has been waiting for a competitive win against reigning Olympic champions and world champions Denmark for ten years now. The European Championship silver is nevertheless evidence of the upswing in German handball and should fuel the anticipation for the home World Cup in January 2027 even more. The DHB selection will wait exactly 20 years for a world championship title.
Golla: “Walk out of here with your head held high”
Germany’s team captain Johannes Golla said: “I’m proud of the performance, of the whole tournament. We didn’t give up on ourselves today either. The result is clearer than the game suggested. Compared to the final at the Olympics, we can leave here today with our heads held high.” In the Olympic final in Lille 2024 there was a very heavy defeat against the Danes, 26:39.
Chancellor Merz offered the first consolation: “What a final, what a strong European Championship. You fought, showed strength of nerve and team spirit. We are proud of you,” wrote the CDU politician on X.
Last week, both teams had already faced each other in the main round, and the team led by Danish world handball player Mathias Gidsel also won this duel with 31:26.
Germany’s handball players had to do without Justus Fischer at short notice in the final: the 22-year-old pivot was out due to an infection. With an outstanding performance in the DHB selection’s 31:28 victory in the semi-final against Croatia, Fischer played a major role in reaching the final.
Wolff and Golla elected to the European Championship All-Star team
With Andreas Wolff and Johannes Golla, two German handball players are on the European Championship all-star team. Wolff was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament in the fan vote, while captain Golla was voted number one in the circle. For Wolff, it is the third European Championship award of this kind after 2016 and 2024. The new European champion Denmark is also represented with two players in the top team of the final round: Simon Pytlick from Bundesliga club SG Flensburg-Handewitt was voted the best left back player, world handball player Mathias Gidsel from German champions Füchse Berlin, who set an all-time record with 68 tournament goals, was voted the most valuable player of the European Championship.
