After the European Championship defeat against France, Germany’s handball players are under pressure in the main round. “Now we have four finals,” said national coach Alfred Gislason. DHB sports director Axel Kromer spoke of a tricky but solvable task.
The home European Championship is entering the second tournament phase, the German opponents have been determined:
Island
The duel with Gislason’s home country promises to be a great atmosphere. Thousands of Northmen supporters are cheering on their team with all their heart and soul at this European Championship. The squad, which is full of current and former Bundesliga professionals, wants to annoy Germany on Thursday – like in the 31:30 draw last year. “It will be just as difficult a game as against France. They are all experienced in the Champions League,” said right winger Timo Kastening. Iceland’s best European Championship result was a long time ago – the small country won bronze in 2010.
Austria
Only they would have at least expected Austria to be in the main round. With a draw against medal candidate Spain, coach Ales Pajovic’s team entered the second phase of the tournament. “The journey is not over yet,” said Austria’s backcourt player Lukas Hutecek from Bundesliga club TBV Lemgo Lippe promisingly. The game on Saturday against the DHB selection promises to be particularly explosive. “Playing against the neighboring country is always exciting,” said DHB professional Rune Dahmke.
Hungary
Three games, three wins – with a perfect preliminary round performance, Hungary’s handball players have gained confidence for the second phase of the tournament. The Eastern Europeans are known for their irrepressible will on the floor and the DHB selection has to prepare for 60 minutes of battle on Monday. “It will be a really unpleasant opponent. We have to fight against it from second one,” demanded captain Johannes Golla. Germany narrowly won the last meeting two years ago with a score of 30:29.
Croatia
The German EM memories of Croatia are bad. In the last duel four years ago, the DHB selection lost the key game in the main round 24:25 and worsened their chances of reaching the semi-finals. The team from the Adriatic is one of Europe’s top teams behind the Scandinavian title contenders and record world champions France. “This could be our final for the semi-finals,” predicted left winger Dahmke before the game next Wednesday. Goran Perkovac’s selection won European Championship bronze in 2012 and 2016, and silver in 2020.
