A place in the semi-finals of this European Handball Championship was already certain, so the last main round game against Croatia was of no great importance. The German handball players were no longer at full strength and were clearly defeated by the Croatians, who had already been eliminated, by 24:30 (14:13).
For Germany it was the first defeat in the main round, but it was no longer significant. Because Austria lost against Iceland and later Hungary against France in the afternoon, Germany was confirmed as a semi-finalist early and will meet on Friday (January 26, 2024, 8:30 p.m.). ) on one of the big title favorites, the team from Denmark.
National coach Alfred Gislason used the last main round game to give his young players a lot of playing time. They used their chances very well at times, but because on the other hand the Croatians were serious with a number of international stars, it wasn’t enough to win.
The atmosphere in the arena was great
But that didn’t matter for the mood. The fans in the Cologne Arena, which was sold out for the fourth time, turned the meaningless duel against the eliminated Croatians into a handball party again.
And the German team also took part. For the first time in this tournament and in the seventh game overall, she was able to play without the pressure of having to win.
Gislason let his young guns loose
Of course, the last main round game wasn’t completely worthless. Ultimately, it was a matter of fine-tuning the details and rehearsing different variations for the big semi-final duel against Denmark on Friday.
National coach Alfred Gislason initially sent his top seven onto the floor, but then quickly changed and, especially at the end of the first half, also let his youngsters Renars Uscins and Justus Fischer play, whose goals made a decisive contribution to the 10: 13 behind until the break became a 14:13 lead.
Heymann power also against Croatia
Also very strong: backcourt player who was successful three times with his power throws from the backcourt. Heymann had already shown his class in the win against Hungary (four goals) and used his power to really liven up the German attacking game.
Overall, the attack against the Croats was not as polished as it was against the UN. The fact that the Germans were not able to break away as they had hoped was mainly due to one man: Dominik Kuzmanovic, the Croatian keeper, who defused a number of throws “free in front” and already had a catch rate of 44 percent at the break.
Croatia’s Kuzmanovic makes a sensational save
In the second half, Gislason also relied on his young guard with Fischer, Späth, Lichtlein and Uscins, all four of whom were on the plate together for the first time at this tournament.
This meant that the established players like Juri Knorr, Johannes Golla and Julian Köster were able to conserve their strength for the Denmark game on Friday.
This did not remain without effect. The Croatians, with their stars like Domagoj Duvnjak, Igor Karacic and Luka Cindric, pulled through and were ahead of the Germans by 24:19 and 28:22 (55th).
“We want to win the game!” said Gislason during the last timeout. It shouldn’t be quite enough. Also because Dominik Kuzmanovic kept what needed to be kept. In the end, the top keeper made a sensational 22 saves, an unusually high number that brought Croatia a deserved victory and the goalkeeper the “Player of the Match” award.