The German handball players got off to a perfect start into the 2024 Olympic year with a gala goal against Slovakia.
The team of national coach Markus Gaugisch achieved a 40:18 (20:8) win in the second group game of the European Championship qualification and can secure their ticket for the final round from November 28th to 15th with a win in the second leg next Sunday in Düsseldorf December solve.
In front of 2,000 spectators in Sala, Slovakia, co-captain Alina Grijseels and left winger Antje Döll, each with eight goals, were the best throwers for the DHB selection, which wants to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time since 2008. The one-sided duel with the Slovaks served as a warm-up for the four-way tournament in Neu-Ulm in mid-April, in which Germany is fighting for the Paris ticket against Slovenia, Montenegro and Paraguay.
From the start, last year’s sixth-placed World Cup team left no doubt as to who would leave the floor as the winner. After less than three minutes, the German team was already leading 4-0. The lead was continually expanded. In the 22nd minute the cushion was ten goals for the first time at 15:5. Even after the break, the German team continued to act with concentration despite the clear lead and was ahead by 20 goals for the first time at 34:14 just ten minutes before the end.
