The German handball players will be facing Iceland at the start of their European Championship main round. The team led by former Kiel player Aron Palmarsson will face the finals hosts in Cologne, who will be looked after by Icelander Alfred Gislason.
Palmarsson
After two initial victories, Germany suffered the first setback at 30:33 (15:17) against Olympic champion France and came second in the group. Gislason’s team goes into the main round without a plus point. The first two in the group of six win the ticket for the semi-finals.
Co-favorites Spain made a sensational exit
Croatia led by Bundesliga star Domagoj Duvnjak from THW Kiel defeated Romania 31:25 (16:12) and secured group victory ahead of the Austrians, who sensationally knocked the European vice champions out of the tournament early with a thrilling 33:33 (17:15) against Spain .
The Icelanders, winners of European Championship bronze in 2010, initially made life difficult for themselves with a lot of lack of concentration. The Hungarians, peppered with a few U21 runners-up, took advantage of this coldly, later pulled away comfortably (26:18/48th minute) and confidently achieved success over time.
After a few teething problems, the three-time European vice-champion Croatia ultimately solved their task confidently against the bottom of the group, Romania, and was even able to save energy with their success.
Duvnjak only came into play in the final phase, when the game had long since been decided and the place in the main round was already certain. Previously, the 35-year-old backcourt player was mainly noticed as a motivator on the sidelines. Luka Klarica shone as the Croatians’ best thrower with seven goals.
