DHB team: European Championship preparation with obstacles in snowy Hanover

AUDIO: Preparation start with DHB women as role models (1 min)

Julian Köster had to spontaneously change to an S-Bahn in Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, Nils Lichtlein and Matthes Langhoff were briefly stranded in Wolfsburg and Rune Dahmke was initially stuck at Amsterdam Airport. National coach Alfred Gislason, who had already arrived on a leash on Saturday, initially only welcomed part of his 18-man squad to the elegant Sheraton Hannover Pelikan Hotel on Sunday afternoon due to the weather. However, all players were expected to arrive by the first training session in the evening.

“Some people had to pay tribute to the weather when they arrived. That’s a bit annoying. But as long as everyone is present for the first training session, Alfred will also be able to take it with a smile,” said national team manager Benjamin Chatton eleven days before the start of the tournament in Denmark. “The ICE stopped going any further, but luckily there was still an S-Bahn, it took a little longer, but now I’m here,” said Köster after his arrival. His anticipation level is still “10 out of 10,” assured the Gummersbach native.

Winter continues to have a firm grip on northern Germany. Slippery roads and disruptions to rail traffic are expected until the middle of the week.

Women’s silver coup as a role model

The small travel difficulties shouldn’t be a bad omen for Gislason’s team. Rather, the German women with their silver coup last month serve as a template for the desired winter fairy tale. Just like Antje Döll, Emily Vogel and Co., the DHB men also want to celebrate a medal in four weeks. “The women showed what the men also stand for: that they are a tournament team. They found the right atmosphere, then got into it,” said Gislason: “That’s of course something I would like to see with us too.”

The self-image that national coach Markus Gaugisch’s team built up during the World Cup weeks serves as a blueprint for the men. “We would like to copy that, get as far as possible in the tournament and develop as much of that spirit that they had for us as possible,” explained Chatton.

Nine games, eight wins and only one defeat. The record of the German handball players at the home World Cup is impressive. And at the end there is the first World Cup medal in 18 years.

Only four units until the first endurance test

The foundation stone for this is now to be laid in the Lower Saxony state capital. On Sunday, after the first team meeting, the first relaxed gallop in the hall took place. “If Alfred found a soccer ball under the Christmas tree, then maybe there will be a little game of soccer to warm up,” said Chatton. Afterwards, the focus will be on handball. “The bottom line is that there are only four units until we have our first preparatory game.”

On Thursday (8:30 p.m., live on sportschau.de) the first of two toughest matches against vice world champion Croatia will take place in Zagreb. Three days later (January 11th/6:05 p.m., live on Erste) we will see the Croatians again in Hanover as part of the dress rehearsal. “We consciously reached for the top of the shelf. It’s important to get up to this level as quickly as possible,” said Chatton: “That will be fundamental at this European Championship. We can’t afford any slip-ups.”

At the European Championships, which Germany will take place entirely in Herning, Denmark, Gislason’s team will face Austria (January 15th), Serbia (January 17th) and Spain (January 19th) in the tricky preliminary group A. In addition to Denmark, other hosts of the tournament are Sweden and Norway.

Germany wants to win a medal at the 2026 European Handball Championships. The top favorite is co-host Denmark. Here is an overview of the most important information.