The Olympic final is becoming a nightmare for German handball men
The German men's handball team fights its way enthusiastically into the Olympic final, but runs out of steam there. The big game against Denmark turns into a disaster, becoming the most one-sided gold medal match in Olympic handball history. Yet, the silver medal is a tremendous success.
The German handballers couldn't crown their impressive Olympic run with the gold medal and lost the consistently one-sided final against world champions Denmark in a humiliating performance. After sensational tournament victories against European champions France and bogey team Spain, coach Alfred Gislason's team, completely overwhelmed, fell to the Scandinavian star ensemble around world handballer of the year Niklas Landin with 26:39 (12:21).
It was the heaviest defeat in an Olympic final ever. Germany shattered its gold medal dreams mainly with a disastrous defensive performance. The Danes could walk through the German defense almost unchallenged at times.
Silver is a sensational success
Despite the bitter final defeat, Juri Knorr and Co. brought the German Handball Federation the greatest success of recent history since the Olympic silver in 2004 in Athens, the World Cup triumph in 2007 at home, and the European Championship in 2016. That Gislason won the silver medal with the youngest Olympic team lets the federation dream of a glorious future - even if the game against Denmark left a different impression. In front of around 27,000 fans in the cauldron of Lille, Juri Knorr was the best German scorer with six goals.
The Scandinavians around star player Landin from the Berlin Foxes confirmed their dominance in world handball with their second Olympic gold after 2016 in Rio. After the following World Cup triumphs in 2019, 2021, and 2023, it is already the fifth major tournament victory in the last eight years.
For Germany, however, the success of the East German team in 1980 in Moscow remains the only title of a hall handball team under the five rings. In 2004 in Athens, the team around Stefan Kretzschmar had to settle for silver against the Croats. Eight years ago in Rio, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and his teammates won bronze.
After the epic quarterfinal victory over France, the DHB team firmly believed in the gold coup. The six-second miracle in Lille, in which goalkeeper Renars Uscins saved the German team from elimination with the final buzzer, should have inspired the entire team. But in the final against Denmark, the nerves failed.
The Danes scored from almost every position at will. Their efficiency in the first half was sometimes as high as 90 percent. Moreover, their offensive defense caused great problems for the DHB team. The young German squad seemed nervous and couldn't find any way to break through the Danish defense. "We have to work on this," demanded Gislason, as his protégés fell behind 5:10 after numerous turnover mistakes.
The German fans tried to entertain themselves with a Mexican wave on the tribunes, as there wasn't much to cheer about on the field. After 20 minutes, the game was virtually decided, and Denmark led by double digits for the first time after a demonstration of power.
Those who hoped for an improvement in the German team's performance after the break were disappointed. The passes to the circle and to captain Johannes Golla were unsuccessful, the finishes imprecise, and the goalkeeper's performance poor.
Wolf stood after 35 minutes with three saves. This was also due to the defense being a complete disaster. Never before has a team in an Olympic final conceded so many goals. Thus, Denmark's Gidsel could largely unchallenged crown themselves as the tournament's top scorer.
The German defense struggled significantly against Denmark, allowing easy scoring opportunities due to their nervy play and inability to break through the Danish defense. This issue was particularly evident in the first half, where Denmark's efficiency reached an impressive 90%.
In comparison to the German handball team, the Danish squad fielded a team with a variety of players, some of whom had a width of less than 30 cm, allowing for strategic positioning and flexibility on the court.
