Bratislava (dpa) – Was that it now – or is there more to come? After a turbulent Monday, the German handball players are looking forward to the next few hours with great concern and many question marks.
Seven players have already tested positive for Corona at the German team hotel in Bratislava. National coach Alfred Gislason nominated five established players late on Monday evening. It is still unclear whether goalkeeper Johannes Bitter, left winger Rune Dahmke, pivot Sebastian Firnhaber and backcourt players Paul Drux and Fabian Wiede can be used in the final preliminary round match against Poland. Like many things.
what happened anyway
It started on Saturday evening. The German Handball Federation (DHB) announced that backcourt player Julius Kühn had tested positive. Gislason nominated the second division professional Hendrik Wagner, who arrived in Bratislava on Sunday – and also tested positive. “I no longer understand the world,” said Wagner, who had not yet had contact with the DHB delegation. And the bad news didn’t stop there. After another series of PCR tests on Monday, Kai Häfner, Timo Kastening, Lukas Mertens, Luca Witzke and Andreas Wolff also had positive results. Gislason responded with additional nominations.
Can the new players already play against Poland?
That’s not decided yet. Immediately after their arrival at the team hotel in Slovakia, Bitter, Dahmke, Wiede, Drux and Firnhaber have to take a PCR test on Tuesday. They are only allowed to play if there is a negative result before kick-off. It remains to be seen whether the laboratories in Bratislava will actually deliver the results within a few hours. It was only on Monday morning that DHB sports director Axel Kromer complained that the work in the laboratories was too slow from his point of view. In addition to the five subsequent nominees, the rest of the DHB delegation will also take PCR tests again on Tuesday.
Are further positive results to be feared?
That cannot be ruled out. Since several German players have already been infected, other players could well have been infected. But that’s all still theory. The fact is: Including the five nominated players, Gislason would have 16 players available for the game against Poland if the (negative) PCR tests were available in good time. Which, by the way, have never played together in this constellation.
Why is the German team so badly affected by Corona?
Not only the national coach is puzzled about this. Gislason had already said after the first positive test at Kühn: “I don’t even know where that comes from. Being better isolated and careful how we can hardly do it anymore. I don’t understand how he could get infected.” Nobody in the German camp understands that. It is just as unclear whether Kühn, as the one who tested positive first, may have carried the virus to the team hotel, as is the question of whether the German players might have changed their minds in their first European Championship games against Belarus and infected Austria. Such corona outbreaks have not yet been reported by these teams.
What is it actually about against Poland?
Like the German team, the Poles, who have also won twice so far, have already qualified for the main round of the tournament. Nevertheless, the preliminary round final is of immense importance. Only the winner takes two points into the next phase of the tournament. After the Corona shock, the completely newly formed German team is now entering the game as an outsider.
What can be expected from the nominees?
With the exception of Firnhaber, everyone is traveling to Slovakia with a lot of national team experience. In addition, they have all played under Gislason before, so they know the system and the ideas of the Icelander. The now 39-year-old Bitter, world champion of 2007, has also experienced (almost) everything in his long career. But this situation is also new for the veteran. Gislason had actually initiated a change in the national team. Now he has to fall back on experienced players. The exit? Totally open.
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