In the preliminary round of the 2024 European Handball Championship, the DHB team will face Switzerland, North Macedonia and France. Three hurdles that are of different heights.
At the start, national coach Alfred Gislason’s team will face Switzerland in the Düsseldorf Arena. It will be the world record game in front of more than 50,000 spectators. Whether this gigantic number will also have a corresponding impact on the mood remains to be seen, after all, the atmosphere in sports like handball or basketball often depends on a certain proximity and narrowness of the fan ranks to the playing field. In theory, the DHB team should receive tremendous support from the ranks at the start.
Andy Schmid – the past, present and future of Switzerland
And it will need that too. Because opening opponents Switzerland are not among the absolute elite, but they at least have what it takes to become a stumbling block. The main reason for this is of course Andy Schmid. The now 40-year-old playmaker is well known to German handball fans; he pulled the strings for the Rhein-Neckar Löwen for twelve years, becoming player of the season several times and becoming German champion twice.
He now plays for HC Kriens-Luzern in his home country and, somewhat strangely, will take over the coaching position of the “Nati” in the summer, inheriting Michael Suter, who has been in office since 2016.
Zehnder, Rubin, Portner – three topBundesliga player
The Swiss are particularly strong in the left back and the playmaker position. Manuel Zehnder from ThSV Eisenach is currently the best goalscorer in the handball Bundesliga for Switzerland and Wetzlar’s Lenny Rubin, also half-left, can be found in the top 10 Bundesliga scorers.
In the European Championship qualifying game against secret favorites Hungary, the Swiss showed their potential, leading 17:14 in the first half, but then they were no longer able to keep up defensively against the physical Hungarians and ended up losing a little too clearly 32:27 – the Schmid trio , Rubin and Zehnder scored 20 of the 32 hits.
In goal, Nikola Portner from SC Magdeburg is an absolute top man who is difficult to beat, especially from the outside positions. A total of ten players in the 20-man squad have Germany experience – but only a few represent the top international level.
This makes Switzerland a little easier to predict than other opponents in the tournament and the defense should also provide the DHB selection with one or two opportunities to score goals from the backcourt. But on a day in top form, Switzerland is an opening opponent not to be underestimated, especially since Schmid will probably be particularly motivated in his last major tournament as an active player.
North Macedonia – outsiders with a lot of fighting power
The North Macedonians’ star sits on the bench – Kiril Lazarov was the face and great strength of his country’s national team for over 20 years before he, quite logically, became their coach. With goalkeeper Borko Ristovski, pivot Stojance Stoilov and left winger Dejan Manaskov, Lazarov always had good teammates throughout his playing days, and in 2012 he even achieved fifth place at the European Championships. However, the North Macedonians are currently a long way from such a team. At the last European Championship they came 22nd, also under Lazarov’s direction, and at the 2023 World Cup they finished 27th.
Thomas Koos, Sportschau, December 21, 2023 10:34 a.m
In qualifying, the team lost relatively clearly against Portugal twice, but at least kept the defeat within limits. Because the team still has fighting strength and physicality. It is a more “traditional” handball that the team plays around the two backcourt right-handers Filip Taleski and Filip Kuzmanovski. Straightforward, physical and supported by good goalkeepers like veteran Nikola Mitresvki.
Normally, the DHB team should hardly be surprised in the game on January 14th, one or two backcourt goals from Taleski or Kuzmanovski, who have Bundesliga experience, cannot be prevented, but otherwise the defense should be able to make it difficult enough for the North Macedonians in order to score “easy” counter-attack goals and to avoid the physically grueling game against the standing defense of the Lazarov seven.
France – the eternal top favorite
For years, handball experts and fans have been predicting a drop in performance among France’s handball players. After all, star player XY is no longer active and veteran XYZ is getting on in years. But the French continue to produce good handball players in the younger generations and are world-class or even twice as world-class in every position.
Really in every position? Vincent Gerard is missing in goal due to injury and Kiel’s Samir Bellahcene and the Montpellier team Remi Desbonnet and Charles Bolzinger are all good keepers, but have not yet consistently achieved the absolute top level over several years. Knowingly, coach Guillaume Gille nominated all three, true to the motto: One will have a good day. Incidentally, Desbonnet had one of those in the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals against Germany.
Thanks to their enormous squad depth, the French can mercilessly exploit any phase of weakness in their opponents at any time. In the 2023 quarter-finals, the DHB team played well, led 11:7 in the middle of the first round and was absolutely in the game until 24:26.
Then there were a few slight mistakes and the French, who were also able to replace their top performers Dika Mem and Co. again and again, pulled away in a few minutes. Less than ten minutes later it was 25:32 and the game was decided. The same applies this year: Germany needs an almost perfect game against France to take the two points.