Sport Handball-EM
Germany starts the main round with a victory over Iceland
As of: 10:31 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Strong as a bear: Andreas Wolff led the DHB selection to victory
Source: AFP/INA FASSBENDER
An outstanding goalkeeper gave the German team a successful start to the main round of the European Handball Championship. Andi Wolff made the Icelanders despair and saved two seven-meter penalties in the final phase. Before the throw-off there was a breakdown during the national anthems in Cologne.
The German national team started the main round of the European Championship with a victory. The DHB selection came to a hard-fought 26:24 (11:10) against Iceland. This means the German team has 2:2 points and still has every chance of reaching the semi-finals. The next opponent on Saturday (8.30 p.m.) is Austria.
There was an embarrassing mishap before the game. When the Icelandic national anthem was played, there were skips like a record. The anthem was correct, but the technology distorted the song and caused whistles and head shaking. The reason for the faux pas was a problem with the laptop’s audio player, the organizers announced during the game. The anthem was played correctly a minute later. The fans bridged the break with shouts of “Island, Iceland”. As if the duel with his home country wasn’t special enough for Germany’s national coach Alfred Gislason…
His team initially struggled against Iceland’s mobile backcourt players and trailed until the 13th minute. The DHB team also found no means in the initial phase against the robust ex-Kiel player Aron Palmarsson, who was difficult to defend in one-on-one situations.
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Germany needed the home crowd, left winger Rune Dahmke called on the crowd to show even more support. The fact that the German team wasn’t even more behind at this point was thanks to goalkeeper Andi Wolff, who kept his team in the game with strong saves. In the 14th minute, the DHB selection took the lead for the first time (6:5) and brought the Cologne cauldron to the boil.
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His front men were significantly less focused than Wolff, giving away four attacks in the middle of the first half. EM newcomer Martin Hanne in particular was far too impatient with his shots from the backcourt. “It’s a very unpleasant game because the Icelanders play a very aggressive, attacking defense that prevents us from flowing. What’s missing, of course, is our tempo game. We have to take even more risks when playing at high speed,” demanded DHB sports director Axel Kromer at the break.
Special duel: National coach Alfred Gislason met his home country
Source: dpa/Sören Stache
But his speech had no effect. On the contrary, Germany continued as they left off after the restart – with strong reflexes from Wolff and weak throws at the opponent’s goal. Gislason despaired on the sidelines. His expression only improved when right winger Timo Kastening made it 16:14 with some impressive spins.
But the German game remained too disjointed. With 14 minutes to go, Iceland equalized to 16:16 and took the lead again a short time later. Immediately beforehand, playmaker Knorr had missed a seven-meter penalty. The final phase finally became a wild handball thriller. Wolff saved a seven-meter shot shortly before the end when the score was 24:22. And he did the same a little later when the score was 24:23. Being outnumbered, the Germans ultimately saved the victory.
Victories for France and Austria
Olympic champion France continues to head towards the semi-finals. The record world champion, who defeated the DHB selection in the preliminary round, narrowly prevailed in a dramatic game against Croatia with 34:32 (18:18) and leads the group with 4:0 points. And Austria’s handball players also remain undefeated on the road to success at the European Championships. The team around backcourt ace Mykola Bilyk won against Hungary 30:29 (17:17) and now has 3:1 points.
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“This is unbelievable,” said national coach Ales Pajovic about the surprising success on Thursday in Cologne. The Austrians are opponents of the German team on Saturday. “We have already exceeded all expectations and hope to be able to continue riding this wave,” said long-time Bundesliga professional Robert Weber. Hungary has 2:2 points after its first tournament defeat.