Luck of the draw for Germany’s handball players: With Qatar, Serbia and the weakest Africa representative, the DHB selection has consistently received solvable tasks for the preliminary round at the 2023 World Cup.
“Overall, we got a good deal – also with a view to the possible tableau in the main round,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer after the draw in Katowice, Poland.
There, the team of national coach Alfred Gislason will play all games in Group E in the finals from January 11th to 29th and – in the case of expected advancement – also all main round games. Opponents would then be the top three teams in Group F with Norway, North Macedonia, Argentina and the Netherlands.
“With Qatar as Asian champions and Serbia we got two very good teams without question. The fifth African representative is probably an unknown quantity in every respect,” said Gislason. Who that will be will be decided after the conclusion of the Africa qualifier on July 18th. “All in all, this is a good and interesting group, but not an easy one either,” emphasized the national coach. Captain Johannes Golla is certain: “We are definitely a match for our opponents in terms of sport.”
Should the DHB selection also survive the main round, they would hold their quarter-finals and, if they win, the semi-finals in Gdansk. The final is in Stockholm. The placement round for places five to eight will also take place there.
“When you look to the front, there are of course always questions about possible opponents in the knockout phase. A quarter-final against the two hosts Sweden or Poland and Spain or France could be very tough, but we have to take care of other tasks first,” Kromer said: “Our first job is to be able to prepare as best we can with the planned staff, assert ourselves in the preliminary round and go into the main round with good cards.”