The German handball players go to the World Cup. After the clear first-leg success in Kiel, they also won the play-off second leg against the Faroe Islands with 33:27 (15:16).
Germany’s handball players jumped in circles relieved, then they celebrated their World Cup ticket with the fans who had traveled with them: Despite another changeable performance, captain Johannes Golla and Co. didn’t let anything burn in the second leg in the Faroe Islands and prepared for the World Cup in January 2023 in Poland and Sweden qualified.
Alfred Gislason took a deep breath after the lackluster 33:27 (15:16) against the blatant outsider. “I’m happy that we’re at the World Cup now,” said the national coach. The game “cost a lot of nerves” for him, but he was particularly satisfied with the second half: “We played better and then brought it home confidently.”
The best German goalscorer on Saturday evening in front of 1750 spectators in Torshavn were playmaker Luca Witzke and left winger Lukas Mertens with five goals each. The DHB team had already won the first leg on Wednesday with 34:26.
“Our goal was to go to the World Cup and win both games. We have to admit that not everything was ideal. But we achieved our goal, even if not with flying colours,” said Golla.
DHB team takes command after the break
After the quite clear but lackluster victory on Wednesday in Kiel, Gislason had demanded another success from his stars before the trip to the archipelago in the North Atlantic – and a significant increase in performance. But Golla and Co. couldn’t keep up with the latter for a long time, and so the game actually became the “hot dance” feared by Gislason.
Both behind and in front, the seventh place in the European Championship presented itself pretty headless and somehow haphazard in the first section. While there was no clear playful line in attack and the German team was completely disconcerted by the tough pace of the hosts, the only 19-year-old middle man Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu presented the DHB defense with considerable problems.
Whether in the defensive 6:0 cover or a more offensive 3:2:1 variant: The Faroe Islands hardly had any trouble getting their goals and even took the lead for the first time just before the break (15:14). No wonder that Andreas Wolff, who was still strong in the first leg, left his goal at the break. Till Klimpke was allowed to take his place in the second section.
After the change of sides, the German team quickly took command. Because the Gislason-Sieben went about their work much more calmly in attack and the opponent began to lack concentration as the game went on, Germany turned the game around within a few minutes and didn’t let anything burn.
The games against the Faroe Islands, who are at best second-class, clearly showed that there is still plenty to do for Gislason and his team before the World Cup tournament in January 2023 in Poland and Sweden. However, there is not much time for this: the next DHB measure is in autumn, there will be no more compulsory games until the new year.