The German women’s national handball team won a strong 36:28 victory over the Netherlands at the European Championships in North Macedonia on Friday (11/11/22).
With 2:4 points and two games to go, progression is theoretically possible, but very unlikely. Captain Alina Grijseels was the best German thrower in Skopje with eight goals. Montenegro (4:0) and Spain (2:2) complete the German main round group. Only the top two teams in the group of six advance to the semi-finals.
The Gaugisch team showed a lot of improvement after the disappointing first round. With a defeat, Germany would definitely have missed the round of the last four. In the second half, too, the German team initially showed no nerves. Grijseels cleverly built up the attacks, the defense was stable. Germany often benefited from opponents simply losing possession and pulled away in the closing stages.
Nevertheless, the worst placement in a major tournament since 13th place at the European Championships twelve years ago is still looming. “It was important for the team”said Gaugisch, visibly relieved, and added: “It’s a reward for what we put in. There were a lot of things that were marked with a clear bulb. That was really strong.”
Now against Romania and France
For coach Markus Gaugisch’s team it was the second success at the European Championships. In the preliminary round, Germany had to put up with defeats against Spain and Montenegro and, with luck, trembled into the main round.
The next opponents are Olympic champions France (4:0 points) on Tuesday (8:30 p.m.) and Romania (0:4) on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.).