Led by the brilliant playmaker Juri Knorr, Germany’s handball players have gained a lot of new self-confidence exactly eleven weeks before the start of the European Championship.
National coach Alfred Gislason’s team clearly prevailed in the first of two endurance tests against Iceland in Nuremberg with 42:31 (20:14). The best thrower in the German team was Denmark legionnaire Knorr with nine goals.
Against their coach’s home nation, the German team built up a big lead right from the start, but their opponents were regularly defeated by the strong goalkeeper Andreas Wolff. Defense specialist Tom Kiesler also impressed in his national team debut – the European Championship casting will come to a provisional conclusion in just three days at the second test in Munich (5:15 p.m.).
The “two games against Iceland will be revealing for us,” national coach Gislason announced, adding that his team needed “absolutely top level” for the upcoming European Championships. However, his selection needs more than the necessary fine-tuning before the highlight; after the mixed European Championship qualification in the spring, it is also important to create a new sense of optimism.
In the 85th meeting with the old friends from Iceland, who brought a lot of Bundesliga power to the table with nine players, the coach was at least able to draw one conclusion fairly quickly: his players are definitely keen, especially goalkeeper Wolff turned up the heat in the first few minutes of the game.
The German goalkeeper repeatedly raised his fist in triumph and not only proved to be a mood killer for the Icelandic offensive, but also quickly added himself to the scorers’ list with a 4-1 win. The audience, in a great mood, thanked him with enthusiastic chants – the guests only managed one goal in the first ten minutes.
Knorr takes responsibility
As a result, the German handball players also had a few lapses in concentration, especially when it came to finishing. However, they didn’t let their opponents get back into the game – also because playmaker Knorr immediately took responsibility in his first minutes on the field and scored one goal after the other.
Even after the restart, the German team appeared to be defensively solid; this time the Gislason team did not allow themselves a small phase of weakness. Instead, the team gradually expanded its lead.
For the final fine-tuning shortly before the start of the European Championships in Denmark, Sweden and Norway (January 15th to February 1st, 2026), there are still two cracking duels against runner-up world champion Croatia.