DHB team beats Hungary and opens the door to the semi-finals

The German handball players are back on track: In the important European Championship game against Hungary, the team showed a rousing performance – and is dreaming of the title again.

The German national handball team is once again in the middle of the fight for the European Championship title. In the second to last main round game against Hungary, the DHB team showed a strong performance and won 35:28. A new “winter fairy tale” in your own country like the one at the 2007 World Cup, which ended with the title win, is still possible.

Thanks to the sovereign success and French support, a victory at “Matchball” against the already failed Croatians on Wednesday (from 8:30 p.m. in the t-online live ticker) is enough for the German team to move into the round of the last four.

“The pressure on the team was huge,” stated national coach Alfred Gislason on the ZDF microphone – and then added: “I am very proud of the team.”

Germany did need a certain warm-up phase against Hungary. But in the second round, the Gislason team impressed with an extremely strong defense and pulled the 19,750 spectators out of their seats with high-speed handball. The fact that the previously outstanding Andreas Wolff only made his first save in the 39th minute was irrelevant.

Thanks to the success, Germany jumped past Hungary (4:4) into second place with 5:3 points in the main round group I. Under certain circumstances, a draw on Wednesday could be enough to qualify for the semi-finals.

An hour before the game, the French team’s 33:28 win against Austria (4:4 points) provided a shot of extra motivation, meaning they could suddenly reach the semi-finals again on their own. But Gislason remained completely with his team on the ZDF microphone: “We have to deal with our chances much better,” demanded the Icelander two days after the weak performance against Austria (22:22).

This initially only worked to a limited extent; the initial phase belonged to the Hungarians. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that Germany missed four clear throws in the first eight minutes. Above all, Wolff couldn’t get hold of the ball this time. When the keeper made way for the young David Späth after twelve minutes, he had not prevented a goal but had already conceded eight.

The defense initially remained the German team’s Achilles heel. But in attack, Knorr and his teammates now acted much more calmly and with more grip. And when Späth scratched the first ball off the line after exactly 20 minutes, the German team took the lead for the first time since the first minute (13:12) thanks to Sebastian Heymann, who was now turning up the heat.

A 2-0 shorthanded score shortly before half-time made the arena shake. “The goalkeepers will come at some point,” Gislason called out to his charges during a timeout. “If we continue to attack like this, then things will look really good,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer during the half-time break and predicted “one or two more saves” from the goalkeepers.

That’s exactly how it happened. The German defense hardly allowed anything to happen at the back, and Knorr also stepped up a gear at the front – the reward: the first three-goal lead at 20:17. “We’re completely destroying them now. They can’t keep up with the pace,” Gislason called out to his charges during a timeout. And captain Johannes Golla shouted: “Come on, keep defending, just as aggressively.”

And Germany continued. Wolff, who returned between the posts, saved his first balls, Köster increased the score to 23:19 (40th). When Christoph Steinert scored 30:24 (54′), the game was decided.