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Johannes Bitter and teammates after losing to Spain
Photo:
PETR DAVID JOSEK / AFP
Minutes of frustration:
It was the 44th minute when Philipp Weber extended the German lead against European champions Spain to 25:22.
Suddenly it looked like the DHB selection could cause a surprise.
But then came the break: a loss of the ball by Juri Knorr, a miss by Uwe Gensheimer from a free position, the first seven-meter discarded by Marcel Schiller at the World Cup in Egypt, the red card against Sebastian Firnhaber, a total of eight goals conceded and only one goal of his own.
Nothing worked, everything was lost.
Almost exactly ten minutes after Weber's goal, the German three-point lead was 26:30 behind.
Result of the game:
Alfred Gíslason was seen towards the end of the TV broadcast on ZDF.
The national coach sat motionless on his coaching chair and looked into nothing.
His inexperienced selection had shown an exciting game against Spain, but also a terrible ten minutes.
“Just too much risk.
We ruined ourselves, «said Gislason a little later about this phase and the game that the German handball players lost 28:32 (13:16).
Even after the first game in the main round, the quarter-finals for the DHB selection can hardly be reached.
The start:
"You never like to play against the German team," ZDF expert Markus Baur said shortly before the start.
The motto of the 2007 world champion did not quite do justice to the current balance of power: Here the young, inexperienced German selection, which had just lost to Hungary, as the opponent, who competed with almost the same team that had triumphed at the European Championships in 2018 and 2020 .
On paper it didn't look like an eye-to-eye comparison.
But then the start of the German handball players was quite promising.
A lot of effort, simple goals conceded:
The score remained tight for a long time.
How hard the fight of the DHB selection was, however, was particularly evident between the 14th and 15th minute, when Paul Drux made two missed throws.
The Germans ran up and tried to open gaps in the Spanish back line.
But they stood in front of a wall.
In the two unsuccessful throws by Drux within just 14 seconds, Spain came to two fast-paced attacks and two easy goals.
The German handball players toiled, the opponent's goals looked very simple.
Bitter for Wolff:
The biggest evening in Andreas Wolff's career was almost five years ago, the 2016 European Championship final against Spain.
Wolff, then only 24 years old, keeper of the HSG Wetzlar, was largely unknown.
But in that final he had a defense rate of almost 50 percent - and the goalkeeper led Germany to the European Championship and himself to the All-Star team.
The DHB selection would have needed such an outstanding goalkeeping performance in the first half, but Wolff only fended off four of 18 throws, but also because Spain appeared too often in front of his goal.
Shortly before half-time, Johannes Bitter came for him.
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Right Kai Häfner, left with Ángel Fernández Pérez (six hits) the most successful Spanish thrower
Photo: Petr David Josek / AP
Now it is turned up:
Timo Kastening was the discovery of the EM 2020, one should remember that in the second half against Spain.
In the first eight minutes after restarting, he scored four times.
Now you could see again how fast and how strong the 25-year-old is.
Kastining (seven hits in total) was partly responsible for the fact that the gap suddenly turned into a lead.
Just like Bitter, who made a total of ten saves in the second half.
But then she and the entire team dismantled, especially the exploitation of opportunities "became a broken neck," said Gíslason later.
Outlook I:
The DHB had set the quarter-finals as a goal, but it would need a lot of luck to get into this round.
Germany would have to win its games on Saturday against Brazil (8:30 p.m.; TV: ZDF) and on Monday against Poland (8:30 p.m.; TV: ARD) (which will be difficult enough) and Hungary and Spain would have to blunder in their outstanding games against outsiders.
Outlook II:
The World Cup is still around, but in view of the impending World Cup elimination, we can already look a little towards the future.
The German handball players want to go to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year, provided that they can take place during the corona pandemic.
The team still has to qualify for the summer games, which is expected to happen in spring.
As painful as the defeat against Spain was, it is also encouraging.
Players like Patrick Wiencek and Hendrik Pekeler will return to strengthen the team, and some young players like Juri Knorr or Johannes Golla have gained their first World Cup minutes and gained experience.
The German team will tend to get better in the future.
Not worse.
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