Germany’s handball players can plan after a loose victory in the qualification for the World Cup next winter.
The team of national coach Markus Gaugisch outclassed the outsider in the Playoff-First leg with 39:13 (22:6) and is practically sure of participation in the finals in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Left-hander Julia Maidhof (7 goals) and captain Alina Grijseels (6) were the best throwers for the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) in Westphalian Hamm, all field players scored goals. In view of the extremely comfortable cushion, the second leg in Chalkida, Greece, is probably a mere formality.
playfulness and variability
The Gaugisch team convinced in front of 2,110 spectators against the surprised guests with their variability in the offensive. As the game progressed, the DHB women developed more and more wit and turned the game into a goal festival.
World Cup ticket important for Olympic starting place
In the 64-year history of the World Cup, Germany has only missed two World Cups (1975 and 2001). Participation in this year’s finals (November 30 to December 17) is also important in terms of an Olympic place, as the World Cup will be used to allocate tickets to the qualifying tournaments for Paris 2024.
The game against the Greeks without a chance served not only as a sporting qualification but also primarily as a training measure under competitive conditions. The initially somewhat weak defense – Greece scored the second goal in the third minute to make it 2-2 – quickly stabilized.
Opponents partly overwhelmed
Breakthroughs in the opponent’s circle are achieved again and again with simple body deceptions. In addition, captain Grijseels put her teammates in the limelight several times, the German offensive game became increasingly variable against the overwhelmed opponent – and handsome: Xenia Smits played a Kempa pass to Annika Lott, who converted coolly.
Over 11:3 (17th minute), 18:5 (26th) and 32:10 (43rd) Germany continued to expand the result. The encounter was not intense, so the Danish referee team did not hand out a time penalty in the first section. Gaugisch gave all players time on the field. Apart from a short phase of weakness after the restart, this did not detract from the German combinations.