DHB team storms into the World Cup quarter-finals
The German women's national handball team has reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships ahead of schedule after its fifth win in five games. The expected "dirty" game against Serbia goes on for a long time, then it becomes clear.
The German handball team has reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships in Scandinavia ahead of schedule and secured a ticket for the Olympic qualifying tournament in the spring. Thanks to a significant improvement in performance, the DHB team continued their impressive run of success against Serbia and celebrated their fifth win in five games with a 31:21 (14:13) victory. Antje Döll was the best German scorer in the long, hard-fought game with five goals.
At the end of the preliminary round, the national team of national coach Markus Gaugisch will face title contenders and co-hosts Denmark in Herning on Monday. In the quarter-finals, they could face Sweden, Hungary or Montenegro. The round of the best eight was the minimum for the German squad. The last World Championship medal was 16 years ago - the DHB team won bronze in 2007. The performance against Serbia initially only gave limited hope of another medal.
"Full throttle" only after a delay
Gaugisch had not expected "a handball treat" and the national coach was proved right. The 5000 spectators saw the expectedly nasty game, in which the Serbs slowed down the tempo and played out their attacks for a very long time. The last-placed team in the group made almost no counter-attacks. The German defenders around Meike Schmelzer had to be patient.
The defense was compact, but the DHB team again showed weaknesses in attack. Without playmaker Alina Grijseels (thigh contusion), Germany missed too many shots in the opening minutes. Gaugisch scolded the team on the touchline and called his first time-out after 15 minutes. "Full throttle", the 49-year-old demanded loudly when the score was 5:7.
Crucial point double overtime
The speech worked. Co-captain Emily Bölk in her 100th international match and Maren Weigel turned the game around with powerful shots from the backcourt. In front of the eyes of former national coach Henk Groener, however, the German offense remained prone to mistakes and missed too many promising opportunities. The fast game did not work.
The intensive video analysis during the break did not initially have the desired effect. The German squad allowed themselves to be lulled to sleep by their opponents and failed to find any gaps in the Serbian defense. Five minutes had been played in the second half and Germany were still waiting for their first goal. The fact that the underdogs now acted too impetuously and committed several fouls suited the DHB team. Germany turned the game around again in double overtime and took a five-goal lead for the first time with 15 minutes remaining (21:16). The Serbian resistance was broken and Germany extended its lead. Looking ahead to the match, Bölk had called for the Serbs to be "swept out of the hall". With a little too much of a run-up, they succeeded.
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The victory against Serbia in the World Cup secured the German handball team's place in the Olympic qualifying tournament, where they aim to improve upon their last World Championship medal, a bronze won in 2007. As part of their impressive run in the tournament, the DHB team, backed by DHB, defeated Serbia in the quarter-finals of the handball world cup with a score of 31:21.
In the preliminary round, the German national handball team, led by coach Markus Gaugisch, will face title contenders Denmark in the quarter-finals, aiming to advance further and potentially challenge for another World Cup medal.
Source: www.ntv.de
