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A win against the surprise team of the Handball World Cup brings the DHB team into the quarter-finals, a defeat means the end. All news about Germany against Italy.
6:56 a.m
Italy in the team check
“Being there is everything” was the motto, now Italy is one win away from the quarter-finals. With a win over Germany, the Azzurri are assured of advancing to the Handball World Cup. With looseness, a flexible defense and a strong goalkeeper, Riccardo Trillini’s team wants to become a stumbling block for the German team.
Daniel Neuhaus, sports show, January 22nd, 2025 6:21 p.m
Jan 22, 2025 • 10:06 p.m
Norway defeats Spain
A look at main round group III: Host Norway secured the all-important success against Spain in a hard-fought game, winning 25:24 (10:13) and thus preserving their small chance of reaching the knockout round of the home World Cup. Two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final will be played in Oslo. The mood would certainly be good if the Norwegians stayed in the tournament for a long time. They are now in fifth place with two points, but second place is only two points away.
By the way, the player of the game was a birthday boy – Tobias Grondahl with seven goals. Happy birthday.
01/22/2025 • 9:10 p.m
of Italy Key players
The German-Italian Domenico Ebner is particularly in focus before the duel between his two home countries. The goalkeeper is one of the strongest goalkeepers in the Handball World Cup with 35.5 percent of shots saved on his goal and ten and a half saves per game. For comparison: Andreas Wolff has so far saved 34.2 percent and David Späth 30.3 percent of the throws at the German goal.
In attack, two right wingers are the statistically most noticeable players: Leo Prantner, who also throws the seven-meter penalty, is the top scorer with 22 goals, and Tomas Bortoli is the best assist provider with 17 assists. Only two teams at the Handball World Cup throw more shots from the outside at the goal, with the Italians’ rate being only mediocre.
Also worth mentioning are Giacomo Savini (right back) and Simone Mengon (centre back), who are among the top 10 players in the World Cup who draw the most time penalties from opponents. Savini already had five in the tournament and Mengon four. No player in the German team received more than two penalties.
Jan 22, 2025 • 8:17 p.m
Knorr is missing Final training
In the last training session before the duel with Italy, Juri Knorr was in the hall in Silkeborg, but did not take part in the session. The playmaker has a cold, it’s apparently just a precautionary measure. If his condition doesn’t worsen, he should be able to play on Thursday.
Jan 22, 2025 • 6:38 p.m
Two Bundesliga professionals in Italy’s squad
With goalkeeper Domenico Ebner (SC DHfK Leipzig) and playmaker Simone Mengon (ThSV Eisenach), two players from the Bundesliga are in the Italian handball squad. There are also two young professionals in the German 2nd league: Mikael Helmersson from HSC 2000 Coburg and Leo Prantner from HBW Balingen-Weilstetten – the 22-year-old right winger is also the Azurri’s top goalscorer with 22 goals.
01/22/2025 • 5:50 p.m
Köster appeals to the team
Italy is a very unpleasant team. They play a lot of one-on-one games and are very emotional – we have to counter everything, stand together more compactly and then somehow win the game.
01/22/2025 • 5:05 p.m
Knorr is ailing – is it enough for the “final”?
In the important game against the Italians, the German handball players may have to make do without their playmaker. Juri Knorr has a cold and already played against Denmark with a sore throat. “Juri was under the weather, he had a bit of a cold, we knew that. I wanted to give him as many breaks as possible,” said national coach Alfred Gislason.
Benjamin Chatton did not want to elaborate on the subject on Wednesday. “I’m not a fan of always communicating nuances of health conditions. He wasn’t feeling 100 percent well yesterday,” he said. “We continue to assume that he will be operational tomorrow.”
Jan 22, 2025 • 4:42 p.m
Away game for Germany?
For the first time in 78 years of World Cup history, an Italian men’s national team is in the main round; reaching the quarter-finals would be a sensation. Italy’s fairytale story and the intense yet easy-looking game have won many hearts of Danish fans – for Germany it will be an “away game”, as national team manager Benjamin Chatton said on Wednesday.
01/22/2025 • 4:10 p.m
The initial situation
Despite the 30:40 (18:24) defeat in the new edition of the Olympic final, the DHB selection still has progress in its own hands. With four points, Germany is in second place in Group I, which qualifies for the quarter-finals, ahead of the Italians with the same points.
Even a win against the Italian surprise team would be enough to advance early if Switzerland doesn’t win against the top favorites Denmark on Thursday. But if the German team loses, regardless of the last main round duel with the blatant outsiders Tunisia on Saturday (8.30 p.m., ZDF), all medal dreams will end.
Jan 22, 2025 • 3:47 p.m
Welcome!
In the “final” against Italy, Germany’s handball players are aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The DHB team has to deal with the bitter setback against Denmark as quickly as possible. Here you can find all the news about the game on Thursday (6 p.m., live on ZDF and in the full audio report on sportschau.de).