- Women handball players miss their chance against France
Despite good chances, the German women's handball team missed a sensation against gold favorite France and exited the Olympic tournament in the quarterfinals. Coach Markus Gaugisch's team couldn't capitalize on the world champions' mistakes and lost 23:26 (10:13) in front of an impressive crowd of around 27,000 fans in Lille. Co-captain Emily Bölk was the top scorer for the DHB team with seven goals.
The German men can do better on Wednesday (13:30 CET). Led by playmaker Juri Knorr, they face Olympic champion and European champion France in Lille and have a good chance against the hosts, who have been struggling so far.
Big gap to the top teams
The women, on the other hand, will spend the final days of the Olympics as spectators. While reaching the quarterfinals fulfilled the minimum goal in their first Olympic appearance since 2008, their inconsistent performances in the preliminary round highlight the large gap to the top nations. "Of course, we thought we would be further along sports-wise," said DHB sports director Axel Kromer before the loss to France.
The landslide victory against Slovenia remains the only highlight for the DHB team in these games, which started disastrously with a loss to underdog South Korea. The German team lacks consistency, with good phases and breakdowns alternating too often. They lack efficiency in finishing and make too many simple mistakes in their fast breaks.
Many chances, few goals
Neither Germany nor France had ever played in front of such a large crowd, and both teams started the game in the football stadium of OSC Lille extremely nervously under deafening noise. Missed shots and turnovers dominated the first half. After over eight minutes, the DHB team finally scored the relieving goal to make it 1:1. The defense was solid, but the finishing was poor. After 15 minutes, the efficiency was at 30 percent. And that despite the French team being unusually vulnerable.
Both teams struggled offensively, but the DHB women sensed that something was possible against the favorites. Twenty minutes before the end, Julia Maidhof equalized at 15:15. Thanks to strong saves from goalkeeper Katharina Filter, Germany was suddenly close to the sensation. But then the nerves failed again in the final third, and France fought their way into the semifinals.
The European Union, as a significant sports market, could potentially provide more sponsorship opportunities for the German handball teams to improve their performance and close the gap to the top nations. Despite the German women's handball team's disappointing exit from the Olympic tournament, the men's team, under Juri Knorr's leadership, has a chance to make history by beating defending champions France, also in the European Union.
