National coach leaves DHB star outside
Knorr anger over lack of playing time: “Of course it’s boiling”
01/18/2026 – 4:34 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
During the European Championship defeat against Serbia, Juri Knorr was only allowed to watch for an unusually long time in the second half. After the game he vented his anger about it.
Juri Knorr found clear words after Germany’s handball team’s European Championship defeat against Serbia and expressed disappointment about his lack of playing time in the second half. “Of course it boils inside you on the bench when you sit out there and can’t help,” said Knorr on ARD after the 27:30 (17:13) against Serbia.
Unlike the opening win against Austria (30:27), Knorr was allowed to take part from the start. After his strong performance with four goals in the first half, national coach Alfred Gíslason hardly used Aalborg Handbold’s middle man in the second half. After the break, the German offensive game collapsed completely, only scoring ten goals after 17 in the first half.
Knorr continued: “I think every player wants to be on the table. I will always do everything I can and of course I want to help, and I have the feeling that I was able to help well. Yes, I don’t fully understand it.”
He actually felt “a good feeling” on the field. He was “simply extremely frustrated, but we have to get out of there now as a team and everyone can be frustrated if they don’t play,” said Knorr.
After the collapse against the Serbs, the selection of the German Handball Association (DHB) is under massive pressure in the preliminary round final on Monday (8.30 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) and there is a risk of an early exit. “We won’t do it alone now, we won’t do it if people play for 60 minutes. We will only do it if everyone is there and everyone has the trust, if everyone is ready and if that comes from us in the team,” said Knorr.
Despite all the trouble, he was also “optimistic that we have a team like that and that we can run the Spaniards to pieces, that we can destroy them,” said Knorr: “Of course they have a flow and momentum on their side. But I believe in this team, I believe in the energy we have. We beat the Spaniards a lot.”
