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Here in the jersey of THW Kiel, active for Denmark at the World Cup: goalkeeping superstar Niklas Landin
Photo: Revierfoto / imago images
A World Cup with 32 countries in the middle of the pandemic: Read more about the problems
here.
And why it would be appropriate to cancel the World Cup completely,
read here
.
The hygiene concept
Every 48 to 72 hours, professionals and other people involved in the tournament are tested for corona.
It is mandatory to wear a mask, if you do not have to play a game, train or eat, you have to isolate yourself in your single room.
Excursions outside the hotel walls are prohibited.
The epidemiologist Prof. Dr.
Markus Scholz from the University of Leipzig has the twelve-page
hygiene concept
for SPIEGEL
read and rated, he sees problems: »There could be infections before or during the flight on arrival.
This could result in entries in the bubbles despite a negative initial test. «Before the restart of the NBA in Disney World or the Champions League continuation of the footballers in Lisbon, professionals had to isolate and test themselves for weeks before the game started before they went into the» bubble «Moved in.
At the handball world championships, such a long isolation is not planned in advance.
Some teams even arrive on their first matchday.
The organizer has only rented four hotels in Egypt, which will accommodate all 32 teams, referees, officials and journalists.
Scholz says: “The bubbles are relatively large, so that individual cases can have greater effects.
That means that if there are cases, further infections are likely. "With Cape Verde and Brazil, two teams have already moved into this" bubble "that recently had an outbreak.
The octopus
In the best case scenario, parades result in own hits in handball: blocked shot, conquering the ball, fast counter-attack, throw, goal.
The importance of a defensive role and the role of the goalkeeper in handball cannot be emphasized enough.
Both are essential, and because Denmark has the best keeper in the world in their ranks, the Danish selection will be among the favorites at the World Cup in Egypt and their mission to defend their title.
Niklas Landin
, 32 years old, is a giant, with his height of 2.01 meters the goal looks much smaller for the opponent, he fends off the balls that are untenable, as if he had eight arms like an octopus.
His collection of titles shows how special this country woman is: European Champion 2012, Olympic Champion 2016, World Champion 2019, most recently in December Champions League winner with the THW Kiel.
Landin achieved something that few in handball have achieved.
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Will switch to the Rhein-Neckar Löwen after this season: Juri Knorr
Photo: Laci Perenyi / imago images
The bearer of hope
Some key players are injured, others have waived the World Cup because of the corona pandemic.
The German national team enters the finals with many new players.
One of them is 20-year-old
Yuri Knorr
, who will play his first major tournament and is likely to play an important role in the backcourt, the DHB selection already.
With his precise passes and seamless throws from a distance, the former Barcelona professional recently indicated in the European Championship qualification why he is one of the most exciting young players in handball.
But the tightly timed tournament will be a special test of strength for Knorr: In November Knorr fell ill with Corona, at the beginning he had strong symptoms, according to the club.
It took its time until he was used again in Minden in the Bundesliga.
Now it should be fully resilient again.
The weakened DHB selection will need him in top form at this tournament.
The new
When in January millions of TV viewers tap into the World Cup games of the German handball players, then one or the other might be surprised: Yes, the DHB team has a new national coach.
Although
Alfreð Gíslason
, 61 years, since March 2020 job.
But now he is leading the team into its first major tournament as head coach.
The Icelander has seen a lot in his long career (eleven years of which as a trainer at THW Kiel), won a lot, and has been through practically everything before.
With his routine, he could fit well with the young German selection, which still has to find its leader on the field, on the bench they already have one with Gíslason.
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Alfreð Gíslason has been working in Gummersbach, Kiel and now at DHB for over 15 years in Germany
Photo: Christof Koepsel / Getty Images
The coach is not untouchable, he also makes mistakes, but with his years of experience he will ensure calm in a position that has always been discussed in recent years.
It was very difficult for his young predecessor Christian Prokop, so you don't exaggerate.
The longing
In the vita of
Domagoj Duvnjak
, 32,
you are still looking in
vain for a major title with the national team.
And that with this great player from this great handball nation.
Again and again, a triumph with Croatia was within reach, most recently a year ago when the selection failed until the European Championship final.
So now there is a new attempt and after many injuries in the past Duvnjak is in top form.
The backcourt star won the Champions League with THW Kiel at the end of December.
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Has already become a world handball player, but has never been world champion: Domagoj Duvnjak
Photo: Luka Stanzl / imago images / Pixsell
It is quite possible that the Croatian appearances will be emotional, as several earthquakes have recently shaken the country, in addition to the consequences of the corona pandemic.
If you have to know something about Croatian handball, it is that it inspires people in Croatia and is important to them.
Croatian fans keep filling the halls at major tournaments, this time this won't be the case because of the pandemic, but they will keep their fingers crossed in front of the TV sets.
In November Duvnjak was still thinking about a cancellation due to Corona, but he is closely connected to his country - and now there.
You can well imagine that he wants to bring some joy to the people in his home country.
The hard worker
His job would probably have been done without the corona pandemic.
Dagur Sigurðsson, 47, had the task of preparing the Japanese handball players for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in summer 2020 in 2017.
Due to Corona and the postponement of the Olympics, this order has been extended by one year.
But that doesn't have to be bad at all: The Icelander and former national coach of the German team wants to see the first progress in his team, but it's still developing.
He worked a lot for that.
In an interview, he extrapolated how many days he worked with his team a year: he came to 140 days, national coaches from European nations only got 60 days of teamwork, said Sigurðsson.
Shortly after that conversation, the 2019 World Cup took place - and Japan took 24th place out of 24 nations.
At this World Cup, 32 nations will be represented in a final round for the first time, including extreme outsiders.
Last place, Sigurðsson and Co. will probably not take this time.
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Leandro Samedo is the captain of the Cape Verde selection
Photo: Hélder Santos / imago images / GlobalImagens
The outsider
The newcomer to the World Cup from
Cape Verde will
meet Germany on
Sunday (January 17th)
.
That much is probably certain, unless the tense corona situation near Cape Verde worsens.
And otherwise?
Some question marks.
Anyone who examines the Wikipedia entry of the selection will find fifth place in the 2020 Africa Championship - almost nothing else.
Even for DHB coach Alfreð Gíslason, preparing for this opponent was not that easy.
He first had to see where Cape Verde is and then examined video material - as much as there was just now.
He gave his conclusion in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “They all play in the Spanish or Portuguese league and are athletically strong.
If you let her come we can get shot.
We have to be careful. «Sounds like the usual expressions of respect, not like a real superior force.
However, experts say, Cape Verde is to be assessed more strongly than Germany's first opponent Uruguay (January 15).
Those absent from Kiel
"The general development of the corona pandemic" was the reason for his World Cup cancellation,
Hendrik Pekeler had
explained.
Normally the Kiel player would have been a fixture in Germany's defense, but like some other German national players (including the Kiel team-mates
Patrick Wiencek and Steffen Weinhold
) he decided not to travel to Egypt.
The family and their own health come first, so the tenor.
The cancellation of the key players reduces the German World Cup chances enormously - and Andreas Wolff, one of their teammates, reacted critically.
"That they are leaving the tournament this year after they were permanently active in the Champions League bothers me," said Wolff, although traveling to Champions League games can hardly be compared with a World Cup that takes three weeks of preparation persists.
National coach Alfreð Gíslason described Wolff's statements as disturbing.
The international rejecters
"Perhaps the most sensitive handball nation in the world," the DHB President Andreas Michelmann called after the German players after they had canceled.
A rather questionable sentence in the midst of a pandemic, and it's also wrong: because professionals outside of the DHB selection have decided against participating in the World Cup because of Corona.
Including the Bundesliga
players Lukas Nilsson
(Rhein-Neckar Löwen) and
Niclas Ekberg
(THW Kiel, both Sweden) and
Pavel Horák
(Kiel, Czech Republic).
Ekberg is still on an emergency list.
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Seen here at the litter: Albin Lagergren;
he will be absent from the World Cup
Photo: Michael Erichsen / imago images / Bildbyran
The sickbed
This man would have liked to have been at the Egypt tournament, but he is not allowed to:
Albin Lagergren
, 28, tested positive for the Covid-19 pathogen shortly before leaving for Egypt - World Cup out.
The history of Sweden is representative of this World Cup, because other national players around the world are also sick with Corona and have to pass the final round.
With the Czech Republic and the USA, two nations have recently withdrawn their participation in the World Cup because there were too many players who tested positive in their ranks.
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Could be the player of the tournament: Sander Sagosen
Photo: Bertrand Delhomme / imago images / PanoramiC
The world's best
He is the leader of his team, initiates attacks and often enough ends them himself: The Norwegian
Sander Sagosen
combines an overview and final
strength
, which makes him one of the best backcourt players in the world.
Sagosen, already over 110 internationals but still only 25 years old, is now one of the usual suspects when it comes to being named the most valuable player in the tournament.
Sagosen recently won the Champions League with THW Kiel.
The list of possible top stars of the World Cup also includes professionals such as Mikkel Hansen (Denmark), Duvnjak (Croatia), Landin (Denmark), Magnus Jøndal (Norway) and Ferrán Solé (Spain).
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The hope of a nation: the Egyptian Yahia Omar
Photo: Ludvig Thunman / imago images / Bildbyran
The host's star
He is 23 years old and already carries the hopes of a traditional handball nation:
Yahia Omar
, right winger and active in the club for the Hungarian top club Veszprém KC.
Omar and his teammates should ensure a top result for the host, and not a few are hoping for a repeat of the World Cup success of 2001 - at that time the Egyptians finished fourth.
Since 1993, the country has always qualified for a World Cup, the structures in Egypt are good, many children are introduced to handball at an early age.
But the continental competition has also caught up, with Angola becoming the African champions in 2019.
In addition to superstar Omar, Egypt actually relied on its home advantage, which plays a special role in handball.
But because of the corona pandemic, the nation has to get by without fans in the halls.
After all: Egypt has already won the opening game against Chile.
Icon: The mirror