The German hockey women have to worry about reaching the semi-finals at the European Indoor Championships in Prague.
The defending champions lost their third group game against Austria 3:4 (2:3) and go into the preliminary round “final” against Belgium (7) on Saturday (9:00 a.m./MagentaSport) in third place with four points.
The best two teams in the group of five qualify for the semi-finals.
The Austrians got off to a better start in the Czech capital, but after an early 0-2 deficit (2nd/10th), captain Fenja Poppe struck back with a seven-meter penalty (11th) and Julie Pieper (17th) for the DHB selection.
Germany then conceded the next two goals before and after half-time (19th/28th), and Maike Scheuer (36th) was only able to reduce the deficit.
The record European indoor champion had dispatched Ireland 6-0 at the start on Thursday, followed by a 5-5 draw against Switzerland.
