Five current U21 world champions can hope to play at the European Home Handball Championship. National coach Alfred Gislason called up a quintet of junior national players, David Späth, Justus Fischer, Renars Uscins, Nils Lichtlein and Max Beneke, to his 35-man squad for the upcoming tournament (January 10th to 28th).
From those selected, Gislason will nominate the German European Championship squad in the week before Christmas, which will then start preparing for the tournament with a short course before the turn of the year in Frankfurt am Main (December 27th to 29th). During the European Championship, changes are only possible for players who have already been named.
The injured Berlin backcourt players Paul Drux and Fabian Wiede as well as pivot Hendrik Pekeler, who canceled his participation weeks ago, will definitely not be there. The backcourt players Philipp Weber and Luca Witzke, who are currently still injured, are in the 35-man squad that the German Handball Federation (DHB) reported to the European umbrella organization EHF on Thursday. Your EM bet is still open.
“This squad of 35 has potential. Anyone who has made it into this group can dream of being part of a great handball story in January. We will see a very ambitious national team,” promises DHB sports director Axel Kromer.
At the European Championships, the German team will face Switzerland in the preliminary round in front of over 50,000 spectators in the football arena in Düsseldorf (8:45 p.m.). This is followed by games in Berlin against North Macedonia (January 14th, 8:30 p.m.) and France (January 16th, 8:30 p.m.). The first two teams reach the main round, which will take place in Cologne from January 18th.
The German team will play the last international test matches before the European Championships against Portugal. The first meeting will take place on January 4th (4 p.m.) in Flensburg, and the tournament dress rehearsal will take place on January 6th (6 p.m.) in Kiel.
The extended 35-man squad of the German national handball team:
Goal: Joel Birlehm (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Silvio Heinevetter (TVB Stuttgart), Daniel Rebmann (VfL Gummersbach), David Späth (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Andreas Wolff (Industria Kielce)
Left wing: Rune Dahmke (THW Kiel), Lukas Mertens (SC Magdeburg), Matthias Musche (SC Magdeburg), Tim Nothdurft (Bergischer HC)
Back area left: Martin Hanne (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf), Sebastian Heymann (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Julian Köster (VfL Gummersbach), Lukas Stutzke (Bergischer HC) backcourt
left/middle: Tim Suton (TBV Lemgo Lippe), Philipp Weber (SC Magdeburg)
Back center: Simon Ernst (SC DHfK Leipzig), Juri Knorr (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Nils Lichtlein (Füchse Berlin), Marian Michalczik (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf), Luca Witzke (SC DHfK Leipzig)
Back area right: Max Beneke (VfL Potsdam/Füchse Berlin), Kai Häfner (TVB Stuttgart), David Schmidt (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Franz Semper (SC DHfK Leipzig), Renars Uscins (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf)
Backcourt right/right wing: Christoph Steinert (HC Erlangen)
Right wing: Patrick Groetzki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Tim Hornke (SC Magdeburg), Timo Kastening (MT Melsungen), Lukas Zerbe (TBV Lemgo)
Circle: Sebastian Firnhaber (HC Erlangen), Justus Fischer (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf), Johannes Golla (SG Flensburg-Handewitt), Jannik Kohlbacher (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Tim Zechel (HC Erlangen)