The German handball players lost the second main round game at the European Championships against title contenders Denmark 22:30 (13:15) and therefore only have a theoretical chance of reaching the semi-finals and the first European Championship medal in 30 years.
The German team initially held up well in front of 4,025 spectators in the Vienna Stadthalle, mainly thanks to a strong defensive performance, and had a sniff of a surprise until the 40th minute (19:20). However, too many missed throws and an overall harmless attack cost us a better result in the end; Germany only scored two goals between the 42nd and 55th minutes. The best German thrower was circle runner Lisa Antl with four hits.
DHB team with 2:4 points – Semi-finals only theoretically possible
Germany now has 2:4 points in main round group 2 after the preliminary round defeat against the Netherlands, who also qualified (22:29) and the success against Switzerland (36:27). Other opponents are the previously unbeaten defending champions and Olympic champions Norway on Monday (6 p.m.) and Slovenia on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.). Only the first and second place teams in the group of six advance to the medal games, which also take place in Vienna.
Gaugisch: “Difference between top teams like Denmark and us”
“In the end the defeat will certainly be too great. We were missing the easy goals. We didn’t have the efficiency from the backcourt and had to work brutally for our goals. This causes you to wear out“, said national coach Markus Gaugisch and admitted: “Of course the disappointment is there. But that’s the reality. You see the difference between a top team like Denmark and us.”
Xenia Smits: “We can’t be satisfied”
“We made too many simple mistakes“, said backcourt player Xenia Smits and spoke of a “deserved defeat“.”We had chances to score goals. But we didn’t make it. So it’s hard to win. A game lasts 60 minutes. We can’t be happy if we only play well for 40 minutes“The bankruptcy is”more than bitter” said top thrower Antl, “because everyone here fights hard“.
Bölk and Co. hold their own against favorites Denmark for a long time
The DHB women started nervously and initially got in their own way. After eight minutes, the statisticians had recorded no fewer than seven tickets, the German team was 4-1 behind.
But because Bölk and Co. really worked hard in the 6-0 defense and nipped the Danish combination game in the bud with flexible, aggressive defensive work, they fought their way into the game better from minute to minute. In the 17th minute, Xenia Smits equalized to 7:7, four minutes later Annika Lott even took the first German lead at 9:8. However, it should be the last one until the half-time whistle.
The start of the second half belonged to the German team. Julia Maidhof followed up the quick equalizer with a double strike to give the DHB the lead with her goal to make it 17:16 (35th). And when goalkeeper Sarah Wachter saved a seven-meter shot a little later, everything suddenly seemed possible.
DHB team with nerves in the final phase
However, the hope of a German coup only lasted for a short time. Because when it came down to it, the German women once again lost their nerve on the offensive. Denmark, which had won all duels against the DHB selection since 2019, consistently took advantage of the German mistakes and pulled away to the supposed equalizer (19:20) shortly after a rejected counterattack by Jenny Behrend.