Germany’s handball players have made a successful start to the World Cup year.
The team of national coach Markus Gaugisch prevailed on Friday with 26:20 (11:8) against the European Championship tenth Hungary and gained self-confidence for the upcoming tasks.
The captains Alina Grijseels (6 goals) and Emily Bölk (5) were the best throwers for the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) in the sold out Ludwigsburg MHP Arena with 3312 spectators. In addition, the coverage in front of the strong goalkeepers Katharina Filter and Sarah Wachter was convincing.
“It was a really great game with an outstanding backdrop. That puts us in a great mood for the home World Cup in 2025. We had an outstanding cover performance in combination with the goalkeepers,” said Gaugisch, speaking of an “all-round successful evening”.
Germany made things clear immediately after the restart. Hungary scored just one goal in eleven minutes, Germany pulled away to 17:9 (42nd) – the game was decided. In the Gaugisch team, right winger Amelie Berger and backcourt player Alicia Stolle made their comeback in the DHB jersey after long injury breaks.
Next endurance test on Sunday
Another endurance test against Poland in Heidelberg is already on the agenda for Sunday (3 p.m./sportdeutschland.TV).
The matches of the three-nation-tournament serve as a preparation for the World Cup play-offs against outsiders Greece in April.
The overall goal of the DHB women is to qualify for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. However, the road to the first Olympic participation since 2008 is long.
The prerequisite is a place in a qualifying tournament – the DHB selection will certainly achieve this if they are among the top seven teams at the World Cup in Denmark, Norway and Sweden (November 30th to December 17th).