The German handball players will play the last two test matches in 2025. Against Iceland, national coach Alfred Gislason wants to gain important insights for the European Championship in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, which begins in January. However, the national coach does not want to know anything about a preliminary decision in the fight for the 16 European Championship squad places.
“Very good”That’s how the DHB coach summed up the first session of the German men’s national handball team after a break of more than six months. In the media event surrounding the two international matches against Iceland on October 30th and November 2nd, the focus was not only on first impressions, but also on the personnel situation with two debutants. Both the national coach and Benjamin Chatton, manager of the national handball team, did not want to know anything about the final European Championship squad casting.
The majority of things are certain, that’s what the Icelander let out, but the performances in the two games against Iceland (in the live ticker on sportschau.de) are crucial on the way to squad nomination. Not an easy situation for the two newcomers to the German team, who have to deliver immediately in order to have a realistic chance of making it to the European Championships. On the one hand, this applies to Lasse Ludwig from Füchse Berlin, who completes the goalkeeping duo around Andreas Wolff and David Späth.
Ludwig as a training guest, Kiesler before his debut
However, there are no plans for the former U21 world champion to play, as the established Wolff/Späth team has performed too well in recent tournaments. On the other hand, Tom Kiesler from VfL Gummersbach is making his debut; the defensive specialist is supposed to ensure more stability, especially in defense. And the national coach already thinks highly of the 24-year-old: “He’s a very interesting player.”
Tom Kiesler vs Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu. The Gummersbach defense chief is having a strong season so far.
The fact that Hanoverian Justus Fischer’s use is questionable due to illness means that Kiesler’s chance of playing in the first few minutes in the DHB uniform has increased significantly. But the game against the ninth-placed team in the most recent World Cup is not just an emotional affair for the potential debutants. The national coach was born in Akureyri, Iceland, and all three opponents’ coaches have already played under him.
National coach Gislason meets his homeland Iceland
“I’m always happy to meet my compatriots. We tried really hard to get Iceland as an opponent”the 66-year-old attested that the guests were at the top international level despite a mediocre World Cup at the beginning of the year, “They have a very good team and a good chance of success at the European Championships next year.” And the German team also wants to be successful at the European Championships.
After the two games in Nuremberg and Munich, the DHB team will only test twice against Croatia in direct preparation for the European Championship before the final squad has to be made. Therefore, the coming games are important assessments for the Icelander. “We’re trying to get a little further with every measure. We only have these four games and that’s why we have to concentrate and use them well“Gislason said.
Achievers Uscins returns from injury
It is all the more important that the two left-handers Nils Lichtlein and Renars Uscins return from injuries for the test matches. In addition, the two outside players Lukas Mertens and Lukas Zerbe as well as pivot Jannik Kohlbacher are back after they were not in the squad last spring for various reasons. It is clear that the competition for squad places for the European Championships will not get any easier with the returnees.
“Everyone tries to present themselves in the best possible way, because that is also the purpose of this week of the course.”44-year-old Chatton clarifies, “Alfred will look closely at who fits with whom so that we have a good squad in January.” Although there is no final squad casting, the competition cannot be dismissed. There are 16 places up for grabs in the first European Championship preliminary round game against Austria on January 15, 2026 and everyone wants to be on the plate in the box in Herning.
Two test matches against Croatia as the final ones EM preparation
Both the new and the experienced players don’t have much time left to focus on the upcoming European Championship finals. Despite the competition, Chatton is certain that the team will still try to accommodate the two as best as possible and make it easy for them to settle in. Because in the end, players and coaches all want the same thing: the best possible team for the next German handball medal.