Germany’s handball women started their European Championship qualification with a lackluster victory. In the 31:24 (15:14) against Ukraine, the DHB selection acted well on Thursday (10/12/23) and revealed some construction sites on the way to the World Cup in December.
In front of a good 2,400 spectators in Wetzlar, Alina Grijseels was the best thrower for national coach Markus Gaugisch’s team with seven goals. “At such a high level, it’s the little things that matter, and not everything was right today.”said Grijseels, “But it got better and better. If you’re down by five goals at the beginning and then win by seven, you can be happy.” Gaugisch said with regard to the short preparation: “It just takes time. We haven’t been together for five months.”
The second European Championship qualifier against Israel planned for Saturday in Tel Aviv was canceled by the European Handball Federation due to the current political situation. An alternative date is not fixed yet. The third German opponent in Group 2 is Slovakia. The two best teams will surely qualify for the finals next year in Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.
False start for the German team
The German team made a false start to the game and was already four goals behind (2:6) after less than seven minutes. The defense had no access to the nimble Ukrainians and in attack the DHB selection had a lot of easy ball losses and missed throws.
The European Championship seventh place got the game under control a little better in the middle of the first half. However, they only took the lead for the first time six minutes before the break at 13:12. At the break everything was still open.
Improved DHB team after the change
After the change, the defense was more compact and things went a little better on offense. The favored DHB team was finally able to break away somewhat, but without being convincing. Only when the Ukrainians’ strength dwindled in the final phase did the result increase.