Dream of the European Championship semi-finals is alive: German handball players defeat Iceland

Germany started the game slowly and was behind against Iceland for a long time. Then the match developed into a thriller – which the DHB team ultimately won.

The German handball players kept their chance of reaching the semi-finals at the home European Championships. The DHB team narrowly won the first game of the main round against Iceland. In the end there was a shaky victory of 26:24 (11:10). In front of 19,750 spectators in the sold-out Lanxess Arena in Cologne, leading figure Juri Knorr was the best German thrower with six goals.

The “special and emotional duel” for national coach Gíslason began with a breakdown. The Icelandic anthem played from the speakers, but it was distorted due to technical problems. On the second attempt it worked and Gíslason also sang along. “I’m Icelandic, but I work with the German team and love this team,” the 64-year-old made clear before kick-off.

But his team initially struggled against Iceland’s mobile backcourt players and trailed until the 13th minute. The DHB team also found no means in the initial phase against the robust ex-Kiel player Aron Palmarsson, who was difficult to defend in one-on-one situations.

Germany needed the home crowd, left winger Rune Dahmke called on the crowd to show even more support. The fact that the German team wasn’t even more behind at this point was thanks to goalkeeper Andi Wolff, who kept his team in the game with strong saves. In the 14th minute, the DHB selection took the lead for the first time (6:5) and brought the Cologne cauldron to the boil.

His front men were significantly less focused than Wolff, giving away four attacks in the middle of the first half. EM newcomer Martin Hanne in particular was far too impatient with his shots from the backcourt. “It’s a very unpleasant game because the Icelanders play a very aggressive, offensive defense, which prevents us from flowing the game. What’s missing, of course, is our tempo game. We have to take even more risk in the tempo game,” demanded DHB sports director Axel Kromer for break.

But his speech had no effect. On the contrary, Germany continued as they left off after the restart – with strong reflexes from Wolff and weak throws at the opponent’s goal. Gíslason despaired on the sidelines. His expression only improved when right winger Timo Kastening made it 16:14 with some impressive spins.

But the German game remained too disjointed. With 14 minutes to go, Iceland equalized to 16:16 and took the lead again a short time later. Immediately beforehand, playmaker Knorr had missed a seven-meter penalty. The final phase finally became a wild handball thriller. Wolff saved a seven-meter shot shortly before the end when the score was 24:22. And he did the same a little later when the score was 24:23. Being outnumbered, the Germans ultimately saved the victory.