Strong performance against Croatia
Germany moves into the final of the European Handball Championship
Updated on January 30, 2026 – 7:35 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Germany is the first finalist at the 2026 European Handball Championship. The DHB selection prevailed against Croatia after a strong performance.
The German national handball team has reached the final of the 2026 European Handball Championships. The team of national coach Alfred Gislason prevailed in the semi-final against vice world champion Croatia in Herning, Denmark, after a convincing performance with 31:28 (17:15). The best thrower in the DHB team was Kiel right winger Lukas Zerbe with six hits in front of 15,000 spectators.
By reaching the final, the DHB team has already secured a total bonus of 430,000 euros. If Germany becomes European champion for the third time, it will increase to 575,000 euros.
The German team, which has now secured its fifth European Championship medal, shone with a fantastic team performance on Friday evening. The defense around their strong goalkeeper Andreas Wolff caused the Croatians to despair in the second half. At the front, the again outstanding middle man Juri Knorr and his teammates were at times in a real offensive frenzy.
When Lukas Mertens made it 28:23 eight minutes before the end, the big final party was already beginning among the German fans in the stands. Ironically, against Dagur Sigurdsson, the current Croatian national coach and then DHB coach, the first place in a European Championship final since 2016 was achieved.
Sigurdsson had heated up the game in advance with his sharp criticism of the European Championship schedule. And national coach Alfred Gislason also said on the ARD microphone immediately before kick-off: “It’s very, very important. Both teams will give everything to get to the final. The game will be a certain battle – in attack and defense.”
Despite all the emotions, both teams showed their sporting qualities right from the start – and had an absolutely balanced opening phase. At the back, captain Johannes Golla and his teammates did hard work against the Croatian backcourt edges, while Knorr pulled the strings at the front with a lot of speed and overview. The director didn’t let the offensive tip in Croatia’s defense stop him. Whether as a goalscorer, preparer or organizing hand: Knorr was involved in most of the German goals.
At first it was the Croatians who repeatedly presented the game with their seven-on-six attack variant. But the DHB selection always countered immediately. After a remarkable Kempa trick completed by Renars Uscins after a pass from Lukas Mertens to make it 4:4, even the Croatian fans applauded. A little later, Julian Köster gave Germany the first lead (7:6) in a fast counterattack and goalkeeper Andreas Wolff parried a seven-meter penalty.
