Almost a week before the start of the World Cup, Germany’s handball players made people sit up and take notice with their first international win against fourth-placed Sweden at the Olympics in seven years.
At 33:30 (17:13) in Ystad, national coach Markus Gaugisch’s team presented itself in strong form and gained self-confidence for the finals in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
“I had a lot of fun today because many of the things we had planned to do were played with great calm. And we acted in a stable manner,” praised Gaugisch after the successful performance and added: “Every player contributed brilliantly showed the quality we need. It was a good test.”
Bölk and Grijseel’s best throwers
In front of 2,207 spectators, co-captains Alina Grijseels and Emily Bölk were the best throwers for the DHB selection with six goals each. “We can take a lot from this game. Of course not everything went perfectly, but a lot of things went very, very well,” said Bölk. “I’m proud of the team for doing it so confidently. We trusted our strengths and stayed cool.”
Both teams will meet again in Lund on Sunday before the DHB women start their World Cup against Japan next Thursday. Other opponents in the preliminary round are Iran and Poland. The minimum goal is the quarterfinals.
The German team was wide awake from the start. The defense was stable and didn’t allow much. Behind them, goalkeeper Katharina Filter provided strong support. The 24-year-old saved seven shots in the first half and was therefore an important factor. The DHB selection was also convincing in attack over long periods. After 23 minutes the lead was six goals for the first time at 14:8.
After the change, last year’s seventh-placed team initially maintained its high level and dominated the game until the middle of the second half. At 28:21 the preliminary decision seemed to have been made, but then there was a break in the German game. Six minutes before the end the comfortable cushion was reduced to one goal. However, the DHB team didn’t lose their nerve and ended up leaving the floor as deserved winners.