Danish women put a damper on DHB women
After five wins in a row, the German handball team suffered their first defeat at the World Championships. In Herning, Denmark, the team lost 28:30 to the hosts and European runners-up Denmark. As group runners-up, they now go through to the quarter-finals - where an old acquaintance awaits.
Despite their first defeat of the tournament, Germany's handball players were able to smile again just seconds after the final whistle. In their 28:30 (13:15) defeat to title contenders Denmark on Monday evening, the DHB team missed out on a surprise victory and thus the group win in the main round, but gained a lot of self-confidence for the hunt for their first World Championship medal in 16 years.
The team of national coach Markus Gauguisch will continue their quest in the quarter-finals on Wednesday against Olympic fourth-placed Sweden. "It's a shame that we couldn't reward ourselves for a strong performance. We were very close and never gave up. We're taking a lot of good things with us. Now our full focus is on the game against Sweden," said Gaugisch, adding: "We're going into the game with a lot of momentum. The players will continue to believe in themselves. We know what we're up against, but we want to beat it."
However, his team will have to step up a gear to do so. "They've got great quality, of course. We won one game. But we've also seen that they can shoot us down in ten minutes," said the coach about the two encounters with the three-crown team immediately before the tournament.
"We found good solutions"
Co-captain Emily Bölk was Germany's best scorer on Monday in Herning with five goals in the duel with the European Championship runners-up Denmark, who were loudly supported by their home fans. "We found good solutions," summed up Gaugisch, who did not want to talk about a setback. "We had them on the brink of defeat and don't need to look for negatives."
After advancing to the quarter-finals early and securing their ticket to the Olympic qualifying tournament, the DHB team started the game with a lot of confidence in front of around 10,000 spectators. Not least because playmaker Alina Grijseels was fit again after her thigh contusion. "Don't be shy" was the motto for the match against the robust one-on-one players from the neighboring country.
The DHB team was not intimidated by the strong Danish goalkeeping duo or the roaring whistles of the white and red masses. Thanks to three goals from center Julia Behnke, the underdogs got off to a good start. Germany even survived a double deficit unscathed. The fact that Gaugisch's team were still trailing afterwards was also due to three missed seven-metre penalties.
Several technical mistakes after the break
After Grijseels and Mareike Thomaier had both missed, Bölk tried her luck from the spot - and equalized five minutes before the break to make it 13:13. The DHB team repeatedly created chances, especially from the circle. Two remarkable lobs from the European Championship runners-up brought the mood back to the stands. Immediately after the break, the DHB team was too unfocused and made several technical mistakes in the space of a few minutes.
The World Championship bronze medallists took advantage of their opponents' weak phase and pulled four goals ahead (16:20). The fact that Bölk had already conceded two time penalties at this point and no longer showed the necessary toughness in the duels also proved fatal for the German team.
The Danes now took control of the game. The defense was more compact and gaps opened up in the German defense. However, led by leading player Bölk, the DHB team did not give up and stayed in the game thanks to saves by goalkeeper Katharina Filter. Antje Döll had the chance to equalize nine minutes before the end - but the game could not be turned around.
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Despite their loss, Germany's handball team managed to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the handball world cup, held in Denmark. They will face Sweden, who finished fourth in the Olympics, in their next match.
Germany's handball world cup journey continues as they prepare for their quarter-final clash against Sweden, following their close encounter with Denmark, who are known for their strong handball tradition.
Source: www.ntv.de
