Dress rehearsal in Hanover
EM can come – DHB team beats Croatia again
Updated January 11, 2026 – 7:40 p.mReading time: 5 minutes
Germany’s first game at the European Handball Championship is on Thursday. The form is correct, as the DHB team confirmed on Sunday evening.
The German national handball team won the dress rehearsal before the start of the European Championship. National coach Alfred Gíslason’s team won 33:27 against Croatia. Apart from a short period of weakness at the beginning of the second half, the DHB team was in good shape.
Germany 33:27 Croatia
60th minute – Lichtlein scores again. Germany has now scored 32 goals – the same as in the game on Thursday. But with the final siren, Uscins went one better and scored to make the final score 33:27.
59th minute – The Croatians don’t give up, but they can’t really match the German team’s goal tally. At least Croatia scored with a powerful throw from the backcourt to make it 31:27.
57th minute – There are still three minutes to play in Hanover. The German national team will not let the victory be taken away from them. Captain Golla even scores a six-goal lead against the 2025 World Cup runners-up.
55th minute – Uscin wins the ball again, goal again!
54th minute – Now it becomes clear again. Uscins runs alone towards the Croatian goalkeeper and converts safely. 28:24.
53rd minute – Once again it’s Lichtlein who scores an important goal. Germany is ahead again with a three-goal lead.
52nd minute – Croatia is now within striking distance again, the German team is still two goals ahead.
48th minute – Not much is coming together for Croatia, there was the next two-minute time penalty. Franz Semper takes advantage of this and makes it 25:20 for Germany.
46th minute – Nils Lichtlein, who didn’t play for a second on Thursday, is now on the board. And scores straight away to make it 23:19, Germany is four goals ahead again.
45th minute – The game has become wild, going back and forth at a high pace. The German national coach Gislason takes the opportunity to take a break.
43rd minute – dream goal! Wolff plays a long ball to Häseler, who completes the beautiful move and scores to make it 22:19.
41st minute – After the weak minutes after the break, the German national team has turned the corner. In the last few minutes the team seemed more stable again and had gained a two-goal lead. The last goals were scored by Mathis Häseler and Knorr.
37th minute – Croatia equalizes, but Knorr scores again to make it 18:17. Then Wolff saves a seven-meter shot against Glavaš. “Aniiiiii,” shouts ARD expert Bitter, and then: “The old man has to fix it.”
34th minute – There is the first German goal in the second half. Juri Knorr powers through and finishes with superiority. Glavaš also received a two-minute penalty.
33rd minute – Germany missed the start of the second half, suddenly the score was only 16:15. Croatia scored three goals in the first two and a half minutes, the DHB team none.