Successful dress rehearsal before the World Cup: After yesterday's defeat, the German handball team defeated medal candidate Iceland in the second test. Again, the national team collapses briefly in the second half - but this time they can pull themselves together, mainly thanks to a strong goalkeeper Andreas Wolff.
A highly dangerous playmaker, a very strong goalkeeper - and stable nerves: Germany's handball players have passed their dress rehearsal and are starting their World Cup mission with a tailwind. The team of national coach Alfred Gislason defeated Iceland, who placed sixth at the European Championships, in the second endurance test within 24 hours by 33:31 (19:14) and gained valuable self-confidence five days before the start of the tournament.
Outstanding actors were Juri Knorr and Andreas Wolff. The 22-year-old middleman Knorr became the best German pitcher with 13 goals and tore the spectators in Hanover from their seats with his spectacular game. In addition, keeper Wolff showed himself in World Cup form with a number of saves. When it came down to crunch time, the 2016 European champion turned up the heat.
The "second suit", on the other hand, causes concern. Because as with the 30:31 defeat the day before in Bremen, Germany lost the thread on Sunday after a clear lead. When Coach Gislason substituted at halftime and also took Wolff off the field, the Icelanders needed just ten minutes to equalize. But Knorr and Wolff brought the German team back on track in the closing stages. There are also concerns about veteran Kai Häfner. The left-hander limped off the field in the closing stages. Häfner was injured during an attack and was then treated while lying behind the German bench.
Due to the well-deserved success, the selection of the German Handball Federation entered the last few meters of their tournament preparation with positive energy. The 10,043 fans in the sold-out ZAG Arena in Hanover gave the team a standing ovation.
"We're all in the mood for the tournament to finally start," Knorr said before the start of the dress rehearsal against the World Cup "secret favorite" (O-Ton Gislason) - and followed his words with action. The middle man proved to be the linchpin of the German game from the start on Sunday and shone as a prudent pacemaker and passer as well as a reliable goalscorer. In the first period alone, Knorr scored nine times.
Golla and Co. will spend the next few days putting the finishing touches to the sports school in Barsinghausen. On Thursday, the German team will take a charter flight to the preliminary round venue in Katowice, where the next day the World Cup adventure against Asian champions Qatar (Friday/6 p.m./ZDF) will kick off. Other opponents in the battle for the main round are Serbia on January 15th and Algeria on January 17th.
In the first test on Saturday, the German team had proven its suitability for the World Cup for a long time. Knorr in particular played well up to the 23:17 lead, before Gislason made a few changes and Iceland passed in the final minutes. "The second suit is not yet in place," Gislason complained afterwards and described the defeat as "instructive".
