The serious injury of Paul Drux and the clear defeat against Sweden plunge the German handball players into a low mood. The national coach calls for a defiant reaction against Spain.
Shocked by the injury drama surrounding Paul Drux and frustrated by the 23:32 swatter against European champions Sweden, the German handball players returned to the training camp in Berlin on Friday. The team of national coach Alfred Gislason does not have much time to come to terms with, because today (from 3.35 p.m. on TV and live stream on sportschau.de) the duel with Spain, third in the World Cup, is coming up in the capital at the end of the Euro Cup.
Irrespective of the absence of backcourt player Drux, who tore his Achilles tendon without any opposition and will be absent for months, Gislason made an urgent appeal to his charges in the dressing room right after the final whistle. “It will be our last game for the time being, and that’s at home against Spain. I told the lads that I was expecting a completely different team that wasn’t as pressureless in the back as we were in the first half,” reported the 63-year-old Icelander before the return flight.
DHB team: weaknesses revealed
The appearance in Kristianstad relentlessly exposed the weaknesses of the DHB selection. The Fifth in the World Championships made 24 misses and thus had no chance, as in the last two duels with World Champion Denmark. “Everyone was motivated and willing to do better. Unfortunately, the mistakes we made in the last few games in this competition were repeated. We just had too bad a completion rate and made too many simple technical mistakes.” , analyzed Captain Johannes Golla.
A good eight months before the home European Championship, after three hefty bankruptcies in a row, not much was left of the World Cup euphoria. The game against Sweden also showed that the German team is still a long way from being among the best in the world. a painful realization which was exacerbated by Drux’s bad injury. “It completely overshadows this game. It’s extremely painful for us to lose him for so long and I’m incredibly sorry for him,” said Gislason.
German quartet awakens hope
The only small glimmer of hope was the international premiere of a quartet. Especially backfield player Renars Uscins from Bundesliga club TSV Hannover-Burgdorf was able to set accents and convince with five goals. “I was pleased with his performance,” said Gislason of the U21 captain. There was also praise from Golla: “Renars played a good game in the second half and at times made the result more bearable. He just goes for the goal with confidence and brings in his qualities.”
Uscins, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Saturday, was not really happy about his successful debut. “It’s a lot of fun playing for Germany. But overall we can’t be satisfied. Then there’s Paul’s injury. That was a shock for all the players on the field. It wasn’t a good day for us,” said he.
Golla saw it similarly. “Of course, when a player is injured so badly, their heads are down,” said the DHB captain, describing the emotional state. A sense of achievement against Spain would be all the more important. “Our goal is to show a better performance. We should aim not to leave the competition without a win,” appealed Golla.