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Captain Alina Grijseels was the best German thrower
Photo: Kolektiff Images / dpa
Germany's handball players trembled in the group final against Spain in the second phase of the European Championship.
The DHB selection lost the duel with the World Cup fourth 21:23 (10:11) on Wednesday evening in front of 300 spectators in Podgorica and, as third in the group, takes 0:4 points into the main round.
Accordingly, the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) starts without a point in the second phase of the tournament in Skopje.
There it is first against the Netherlands (2:2) on Friday, other main round opponents are Olympic champions France (4:0) on Tuesday and Romania (0:4) on Wednesday.
Montenegro (4:0) and Spain (2:2) complete the German main round group.
The top two teams in the group of six advance to the semi-finals.
Against Spain, Alina Grijseels was the top scorer for national coach Markus Gaugisch's team with six goals.
“We're going to Skopje.
But today we're down about the way we played the game," Gaugisch said.
Because Poland previously lost against group winners Montenegro by 23:26, the DHB selection was allowed to afford a defeat with a difference of two goals in order to progress.
Ups and downs in the second half
Technical errors characterized the German offensive game.
In the middle of the first half, Gaugisch brought his protégés together at a score of 4:6, and as a result there were fewer easy ball losses.
The fact that the defense was no longer so consistent was also due to the fact that Emily Bölk received her second time penalty in the 20th minute and was no longer used due to the risk of disqualification in the defensive block.
The German team equalized with a 3:0 run to 15:15.
But the ups and downs were not over.
Germany lost possession again, which Spain used to take a three-goal lead in the middle of the second half.
Spain added four goals for the first time at 22:18.
In the final phase, the German team came close again, a turnaround did not succeed.
mas/dpa/sid
