Switzerland loses the opening game of the European Championship against hosts Germany 14:27. They never find their way into the game in front of over 53,000 spectators in the Düsseldorf football stadium.
The German defense effectively disrupts Andy Schmid’s circles.
Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
The question of who can handle pressure and nervousness better was quickly answered. The Swiss handball players met the hosts at the start of the European Championships in the Düsseldorf football stadium. Over 53,000 spectators came, which is a world record. The pressure on the German team was immense. And many a Swiss hoped that the Germans would collapse because of this. People believed in the sensation – in a Swiss handball fairy tale.
The national coach Michael Suter said before the game that they wanted to take the edge off the Germans early on. Use quick retreats to prevent your opponent from getting into a frenzy in front of the atmospheric, record-breaking backdrop. The plan didn’t work. The Swiss problems were less on the defensive. There was a somewhat stable performance with a solid goalie Nikola Portner. But the Swiss engine sputtered on the offensive.
It came as a surprise that Switzerland would only manage 14 goals against Germany. At the Yellow Cup last week, she won the games against the European Championship participants Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as Argentina – and scored 37 goals per game.
In Düsseldorf, however, everything went wrong in the Swiss attack. The German defense effectively disrupted Andy Schmid’s circles. The 40-year-old Swiss playmaker didn’t get into the game at all and only scored two goals. Schmid missed a personal highlight. He played in the Bundesliga for twelve years until 2022 and wanted to say goodbye to the big stage at the European Championships. He didn’t succeed at the start of the tournament. Probably also because the expectations of him were so high. German experts suggested that there was fear of Schmid’s brilliant performance.
The chance of making it to the main round becomes even smaller
Schmid’s teammates also failed to compensate for the leader’s slump. Lenny Rubin, a reliable goalscorer in the Bundesliga, got lost in the opposing defense in the left backcourt time after time. It was a similar story for Nicolas Raemy and the promising Manuel Zehnder, who learned his lesson on his first appearance on the big stage. And because little fit together in the backcourt, the Swiss game in the circle was non-existent.
The Germans, on the other hand, scored more easily and were solid in defense as usual, which opened up opportunities on the counterattack. They were also able to rely on a strong goalie, Andreas Wolff. Wolff parried almost 60 percent of Swiss shots. For Wolff this is a world-class performance, for the Swiss throwers it is an embarrassment.
As was the case four years ago in Sweden, Switzerland met the hosts at the start of this European Championship. And suffered a bitter defeat then as now. In 2020 in Gothenburg she lost to Sweden 21:34, now she lost to Germany 14:27.
For Switzerland, the tournament continues next Sunday in Berlin with the game against France. The 2021 Olympic champion is likely to be an even stronger opponent than the Germans. For Switzerland, this tournament will probably only be about securing third place in the preliminary group in the final group game against North Macedonia (January 16th).