In 2024 there are two home Euros in Germany: national soccer coach Hansi Flick and national handball coach Alfred Gislason used a tram ride in Cologne to ponder and report on where their teams currently stand.
For a press event, Flick and Gislason drove from one European Championship venue to the next: the stadium of the Bundesliga soccer club 1. FC Köln is the venue for the UEFA Euro 2024, and as part of the European Handball Championship, the DHB team will be in the Arena in Cologne, among other places -Deutz fight for the title.
In January 2024, the German handball players will present their European Championships and this time they want to make it to the semi-finals. That this goal is realistic has already been shown at the World Cup this winter, after all the decisive mistakes in the quarterfinals against France were all your fault, said Gislason. The national coach sees a need to catch up, especially in defense and is therefore hoping for the return of established players who were injured at the World Cup.
Flick also wants to focus on defense
Hansi Flick also relies on a mix of young talents and experienced players in his team: “Every weekend we’re looking to see if we can get the right people.” Similar to Alfred Gislason, Flick wants to work on the defense until the European Championships: “Defend uncompromisingly” is the motto.
With regard to further nominations, the appearance of the DFB-Elf in the two international matches in March against Peru and Belgium should be important: “It’s important that you feel there’s a team that fights passionately and wants to give something back to the spectators. Anyone who wants that is welcome to join us on our way to Euro 24.”says the national coach, expressing what he was missing at the last World Cup.
For Euro 2024, Hansi Flick demands from his team what the German handball players recently did at their World Cup: sweep the fans away and fight to the end. The handball players will test directly against world champion Denmark in the two upcoming friendlies in March. Then Alfred Gislason and his team could set a first exclamation point towards the home EM year 2024.