live blog
Will the German handball players succeed in making it into the main round of the Handball World Cup early? Everything about the second preliminary round game against Switzerland in the live blog.
6:11 p.m
Switzerland plagued by injuries – Knorr probably there
With Jonas Schelker, who is also injured, the Swiss are also missing the second most important man in the game center, which should cement the “Nati” outsider role in the group. Germany are the clear favorites tomorrow, especially if Juri Knorr can play. The German team had to worry about the 24-year-old playmaker on Wednesday, as he slipped unhappily after almost 40 minutes and injured his knee.
On Thursday, national team manager Benjamin Chatton gave the all-clear: “I’m not a doctor, but it looks fundamentally positive that he will be available to us tomorrow. As things stand, it’s not a structural injury, but we don’t know 100 percent yet.” Knorr should be present at training and complete stress tests.
5:46 p.m
Lack of goals in the first Switzerland game
It was a result from handball times past: Switzerland and the Czech Republic played 17:17 on Wednesday, which was due to strong goalkeeper performances, but also to weak offensive lines. Manuel Zehnder from SC Magdeburg, last season’s top scorer, was supposed to provide the necessary Swiss goals. But during preparations for the World Cup, Zehnder seriously injured his knee in the game against Italy and will be sorely missed not only at the World Cup, but also for the Magdeburg team for the rest of the season.
5:22 p.m
Balance sheet speaks for Germany
A first look at the history speaks for itself: of the 75 meetings so far, the German handball players have won 62, Switzerland won six times and seven games ended in a draw. At the home European Championships last year, the Swiss were literally overwhelmed with a score of 27:14.
5:01 p.m
Welcome!
Two days after their opening win against Poland, the German handball players will face Switzerland at the World Championships in Denmark. Ex-Bundesliga professional Andy Schmid’s team couldn’t get past a 17:17 draw in the first round game against the Czech Republic. Kick-off is on Friday at 8.30 p.m., the game will be available live on ZDF and on sportschau.de in the full audio report.