live blog
For the German handball players, important points for the main round of the Handball World Cup are at stake on Sunday. Everything about the last preliminary round game against the Czech Republic in the live blog.
9:20 a.m
Florian Naß on the Czechs: Patience is required
ARD commentator and handball expert Florian Naß looks at the third group game against the Czechs: The German team will need patience, including in their own defense. The Czechs hold the ball for an extremely long time in attack until they finish. On average more than 40 seconds. This is an enormous value in times of Danish raid handball, for example. The Danes complete their attacks in an average of 20 seconds.
Although they qualified for the 2021 World Cup, the Czechs are playing in a World Cup for the first time since 2015. At that time, there were a lot of positive corona tests in the team in the run-up to the tournament in Egypt and no alternatives for subsequent nominations. The team was withdrawn by the association.
Florian Naß, Sportschau, January 18, 2025 10:19 p.m
As goalkeeper and captain, Tomas Mrkva is without a doubt the celebrity in the team thanks to his role at THW Kiel. But also interesting are players who are active in the 2nd league in Germany, such as Tomas Babak, who has been playing for Bergischer HC for almost a decade, or pivot Vit Reichl from TV Hüttenberg.
9:05 a.m
ARD commentator Florian Naß looks at the Czechs
For coach Xavi Sabaté, today’s game is one of his last as Czech national coach. The Spaniard’s contract ends with the World Cup and has not been extended. Michal Bruna, who once played for Stralsund, Füchse Berlin and Empor Rostock, and former defense specialist Daniel Kubes will then take over the coaching position together. Kubes once played for THW Kiel.
The Czechs are considered to be extremely strong defensively. And there are good reasons for that: Coach Sabaté spends a good 80 percent of the tactical training units on defensive work! This is at the expense of the attacking work, which is not particularly attractive – but so far it has been successful enough to make it into the main round.
8:03 a.m
Gislason – “We’re really far away from medals”
National coach Alfred Gislason is trying to dampen expectations of his team before the last group game against the Czech Republic. “I think that the demands on this team are a bit too high at the moment,” said Gislason to the sports show. “From ourselves, but also from outside.”
In the current constitution, Germany is not a candidate for precious metals. “People’s projections that we’re automatically going to win medals, we’re really far away from that with our performance at the moment.”
The problem is obvious: “One or the other is not completely fresh, we need more width. Even now against the Czech Republic.”
Jan 18, 2025 • 10:08 p.m
Denmark is group winner
No more surprises in Group B: Hosts and top favorites Denmark also easily defeated Italy 39:20 and are group winners. This means: If the DHB team also secures first place tomorrow, they will face Denmark in the first game of the main round on Tuesday. They now have the day off until then – and are now unbeaten in 31 World Cup games in a row…
Jan 18, 2025 • 9:12 p.m
The jokers Fischer and Späth
On Saturday, friends Justus Fischer and David Späth sat at the press conference together with national team manager Benjamin Chatton. At the end, Chatton praised the two of them for not doing any nonsense. “I’ve never seen them sit next to each other for so long without doing anything. They didn’t pinch each other under the table or kick each other in the shins. Exemplary, boys!”
“We have a great sense of humor together, have our own inside jokes, our own language,” said Späth. The fun apparently also spreads to the other players. “I can watch them both for 24 hours and always have a grin on my face,” said Lukas Zerbe on Saturday, “that’s really good for the team.”
What makes them both so special? The young goalkeeper can hardly explain it. “We’re just us and having fun together. I don’t know why we make people laugh.”
Jan 18, 2025 • 8:37 p.m
From now on it’s all about the quarterfinals
It would have to be a handball devil if the Czechs were to miss the main round. Switzerland and Poland would have to play a draw in the afternoon, and the Czech Republic would have to lose to Germany by at least eight goals – that is possible but unlikely.
If the Czechs go into the main round, the points from the preliminary round will be taken with them – in principle, the fight for the first two places in the intermediate round, which must be occupied in order to move into the quarter-finals, begins now. “We definitely have to win in order to get into the main round with the maximum number of points,” Andreas Wolff summed it up.
Jan 18, 2025 • 8:18 p.m
Wolff at the bar again
The hero of the Switzerland game was lifting weights again on Saturday. The DHB team the day after the second victory:
Jan 18, 2025 • 7:46 p.m
Germany’s main round opponents have been determined
Tunisia defeated Algeria 26:25 (13:9) in a thriller in Group B and moved into the main round in third place. This means that all opponents of the German handball players in the intermediate round have been determined.
Jan 18, 2025 • 6:49 p.m
Meeting of the Kiel goalkeepers
As is well known, Wolff was the focus on Friday, tomorrow there will be a duel with another goalkeeper from the German handball record champion THW Kiel: Tomáš Mrkva. The 35-year-old, who will be moving from the Fjord to Leipzig in the summer, has so far saved a strong 35 percent of the throws on goal at this Handball World Cup. His teammate Wolff is at 39 percent.
Jan 18, 2025 • 6:07 p.m
A serenade for “Steini”
The oldest in the DHB team, Christoph Steinert, is celebrating his 35th birthday this Saturday. After the win against Switzerland, his teammates sang him a serenade and eagerly congratulated him in the hotel.
Jan 18, 2025 • 5:52 p.m
Bitter takes his hat off to Wolff
In the “Handball auf die 1” podcast, Sportschau co-commentator Johannes Bitter took off his hat to his ex-goalkeeper colleague’s performance: “I had 20 saves twice in my life: once against a fourth division team and once with a lot of luck. “
Stephanie Müller-Spirra / Dominik Klein / Johannes Bitter, Handball on the 1 – the sports show podcast for the Handball World Cup, January 18, 2025 3:42 a.m
Jan 18, 2025 • 5:31 p.m
Performance increase necessary
Although Germany won the first two group games, they were neither convincing in the 35:28 against Poland on Wednesday nor in the 31:29 against the Swiss yesterday. It took a sensational 20 saves from goalkeeper Andreas Wolff against the Swiss so that the DHB team could win. “He saved our asses again,” said left winger Lukas Mertens.
Jan 18, 2025 • 5:01 p.m
Welcome!
In the third and final World Cup preliminary round game in Group A, the German handball players face the defensively strong Czechs, who have drawn twice so far. The game starts on Sunday at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Erste and can be seen in the live stream on sportschau.de.