Germany’s handball players had secretly hoped for a surprise against Olympic champions France. But nothing came of it. Despite a good performance in the first round, the Germans miss the World Cup semifinals. In the end there was a 28:35 (16:16) defeat in the Gdańsk Arena.
Above all, the poor exploitation of chances and a faulty attacking game in the second half were decisive for the defeat, which ended the longed-for dream of a World Cup medal. Germany is now only fighting for places five to eight.
Golla: “We threw too badly”
“We didn’t use the free chances like you have to do if you want to reach a semi-final,” said Captain Johannes Golla, with six goals the best German pitcher against the French. His team took the next step forward at this World Cup, “but there is still a long way to go to the absolute top of the world”said Golla.
Disappointment also with national coach Alfred Gislason: “We threw too badly. We didn’t have the throwing power from the back like the French did.”, said the Icelander, who was satisfied overall with the development of his team. Now he wants to reach fifth place with his team.
Goalkeeper Wolff with class parades
The German handball players concentrated on the semi-final project in front of 5,500 spectators against the favorites. Coach Alfred Gislason’s team showed a good presence from the start. From stable cover and with goalkeeper Andreas Wolff again in a very good mood, who repeatedly destroyed the best throw-in chances of the French, Germany were the better team in the early stages.
By the 15th minute, Knorr, Golla and Co. had established an 11:7 lead. But that was soon lost due to slight mistakes in attack, and the French equalized to 11:11. France’s “oldie” Nikola Karabatic kept throwing seven meters, and Nedim Remili also posed problems for the good German defense from behind.
“Racy game with high speed”
The pace of the game remained high. Both teams gave nothing. If the chances had been used even more consistently, the German selection against the four-time world champion could have done better than the 16:16 at the break. The Germans could not be entirely satisfied with that.
“It’s a racy game with huge speed and a huge heart from both sides”said DHB board member Axel Kromer at the break, “After the four-goal lead, we lost the ball too much and took a bit too much risk, which we need against such an opponent.”
Goalkeeper Desbonnet makes an outstanding save
Would the Germans be able to keep up against the title co-favourites? At first it looked very good. The Gislason team bravely came out of the dressing room and pulled away to 20:18 after goals from Kai Häfner, Johannes Golla and Juri Knorr. But as in the first half, slight mistakes crept into the German game. In addition, the French substitute keeper found Remi Desbonnetwho came on for Vincent Gerard in the first half, got better and better and drove the German throwers to despair.
France turned the 18:20 into a 23:20 lead (44th). The Germans could no longer make up for this deficit, especially since they were unable to correct the slight mistakes on the offensive and Desbonnet continued to surpass himself in the French goal. In the end, the man from HB Montpellier even a better save rate than the equally outstanding Andreas Wolff, who paid tribute: “He made a fantastic game‘ said Wolff.
On the offensive, Germany lost its rhythm and could no longer keep up. At 30:25 in the 53rd minute a preliminary decision was made. The ripped-off French didn’t let this lead be taken away and in the end looked forward to an easy and clear 35:28 victory.
Now against Egypt for the placement
France will now meet Sweden in the semi-finals in Stockholm, while Germany will play for places five to eight in the placement round. The next opponent – also in Stockholm – is African champions Egypt on Friday (27.01.2023, 3.30 p.m.). If Germany wins, it will be a match for fifth place on Sunday.