Enlarge image
DHB talent Juri Knorr will miss the EM in January
Photo: Laci Perenyi / imago images
National coach Alfred Gíslason has appointed nine tournament debutants to the German squad for the European Handball Championship in Slovakia and Hungary (January 13th to 30th).
The Icelander responded to the many cancellations in recent weeks.
The DHB selection has to do without Juri Knorr, among others.
Due to a missing corona vaccination, the talent cannot take part in the tournament.
At the EM, the 2G-plus rule should apply, recover or be vaccinated and tested.
"I will unfortunately have to bow to this rule," the backcourt player from Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen had recently told "Mannheimer Morgen".
In addition to Knorr, Paul Drux (precautionary measure after knee injury), Fabian Wiede, Patrick Groetzki (both family reasons) and Hendrik Pekeler (national team break) are missing.
In addition, the former top performers Uwe Gensheimer and Steffen Weinhold resigned after the Olympic Games.
Silvio Heinevetter is missing from the squad
Nonetheless, Gislason is optimistic about the future: »Under these circumstances, it's the best possible squad.
He'll be able to talk about himself, "said the 62-year-old at a virtual media meeting.
He is sure "that we will be on the record with a big fighter heart from the first second".
The nominated players would have »the chance to play themselves in the foreground.
The situation is what it is and we will try to make the best of it. "
The 19-man squad will be led by new captain Johannes Golla for the first time at the season's highlight.
With goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, the backcourt players Julius Kühn, Kai Häfner and Simon Ernst as well as circle runner Jannik Kohlbacher, five players are still there who won the European Championship in 2016 with the DHB selection.
New to the team, however, are the two keepers Till Klimpke and Joel Birlehm, who were given preference over the experienced Silvio Heinevetter and together with Wolff form the goalkeeping trio.
For the first time at a major tournament, the backcourt players Köster, Luca Witzke, Christoph Steinert, Sebastian Heymann and Djibril M'Bengue as well as the two outside players Lukas Mertens and Lukas Zerbe are also present.
The German team will fly to Slovakia from Frankfurt on January 12th.
In the preliminary round, the two-time European champions will face Belarus (January 14), Austria (January 16) and Poland (January 18) in Bratislava.
Preparations for the European Championship, which will start at the beginning of January, also include two international matches against Serbia.
The games will take place on January 7th in Mannheim and on January 9th in Wetzlar.
The DHB selection meets on New Year's Day in Großwallstadt for the course before traveling to the preliminary round in Bratislava on January 12th.
There Gislason has to reduce the squad to 16 players by the morning of January 14th at the latest.
The roster at a glance
Goal:
Andreas Wolff (KS Vive Kielce / POL), Joel Birlehm (SC DHfK Leipzig), Till Klimpke (HSG Wetzlar)
Left
winger
:
Marcel Schiller (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Lukas Mertens (SC Magdeburg)
Back space
left:
Julius Kühn (MT Melsungen ), Sebastian Heymann (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Julian Köster (VfL Gummersbach)
back center:
Philipp Weber (SC Magdeburg), Luca Witzke (SC DHfK Leipzig), Simon Ernst (SC DHfK Leipzig)
back room right:
Kai Häfner (MT Melsungen) , Djibril M'Bengue (FC Porto / POR), Christoph Steinert (HC Erlangen)
Right winger:
Timo Kastening (MT Melsungen), Lukas Zerbe (TBV Lemgo)
District:
Johannes Golla (SG Flensburg-Handewitt), Jannik Kohlbacher (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Patrick Wiencek (THW Kiel)
bam / sid
