Germany can dream of the title against Denmark for a long time, but then has to admit defeat. Several young stars also show strong performances.
Germany’s handball players missed out on a place in the final of the home European Championships after a big fight against Denmark (26:29). The DHB selection will now play against Sweden on Sunday for the bronze medal and the Olympic ticket (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online). National coach Alfred Gíslason still had words of praise for his team after the game.
“I’m very proud of the boys, they delivered a phenomenal first half: outstanding defense, good goalkeeping and we played very well up front. We gave up too much in the second half,” said Gíslason on ZDF: “In the end it worked out The Danes’ routine prevailed, they are the best team in the world.”
Captain Johannes Golla was also proud of the overall good performance, but also said: “Today wasn’t the perfect day.” This should now be in the game for third place. Golla now looks ahead: “Now we want to play another good game and reward ourselves with a medal.” And it’s also about qualifying for the Olympics. France is already there as hosts and Denmark has also secured its place as reigning world champions.
The German team would have qualified with a win against Denmark. And at half-time it looked as if the outsider could create a small sensation in Cologne. But the Scandinavians turned up the heat after the break and were almost unstoppable for the German team. Nevertheless, some national players were able to recommend themselves, especially among the younger ones.
Only one DHB star received a grade of five, and another also fell short of expectations. You can find out who that is here or in the photo show above.