Denmark wrestles down the DHB team
German final dreams burst after a great fight
January 26, 2024, 10:03 p.m
The German national handball team put up a big fight in the European Championship semi-finals against Denmark, but it wasn’t enough to reach the final. The DHB team leads at the break, but in the end the top favorite prevails with 29:26.
Great fight, but the “miracle” didn’t happen: Germany’s handball players missed the sensation against world champions Denmark and were eliminated from their home European Championship in the semi-finals despite a strong performance. National coach Alfred Gislason’s team lost the duel against the top favorites in Cologne with 26:29 (14:12), but showed their best performance in a long time. Instead of fighting for their first title since European Championship gold in 2016, Germany will now play on Sunday (3 p.m./ARD, Dyn and in the ntv.de live ticker) against the dethroned European champions Sweden for bronze.
Driven forward by 19,750 ecstatic fans, the young German team didn’t let two short-term failures stop them and dictated the game until the break. But Denmark won in the end mainly because of their broader squad. The self-sacrificing fight of the DHB selection and the defensive master management were not rewarded.
The best German thrower was 21-year-old Renars Uscins with five goals, and Andreas Wolff showed a strong performance in goal. Emil Jakobsen, Simon Pytlick and Mikkel Hansen scored most often for the Danes (5 goals). In the first semi-final, Olympic champions France defeated Sweden 34:30 after extra time.
Two failures shortly before kick-off
Denmark made it into the European Championship final for the first time in ten years, where the Northern Europeans will go on Sunday (5.45 p.m./ARD and Dyn) against the French for the third title at the continental tournament after 2008 and 2012. France has won European Championship gold three times so far, the last title came in 2014 – in the final against Denmark (41:32).
The German team had to digest twice the bad news on the way to the much-vaunted “miracle” before kick-off: Kai Häfner left at short notice for personal reasons, while right winger Timo Kastening stayed in the team hotel because of a slight infection.
“It’s a real shame that both of them can’t play,” said Gislason on ZDF and emphasized: “We have to play a phenomenal game in defense and in goal. We are very big outsiders, we know that. But maybe that’s where our chance lies .” Germany initially showed this “phenomenal game”. Intoxicated by the deafening backdrop, Knorr and Co. got off to a dream start. Without fear of the Danish stars around striker Mathias Gidsel, the DHB team showed a defensive masterpiece and consistently completed their attacks.
Faith grew in the first half
When Knorr made it 7:5 with his second goal (12th) and Wolff parried for the first time, the arena shook. The German bank also celebrated every successful move, and Gislason raised his fists. As a result, the Danes got into the game better, but again and again Wolff or the German defense were the last stop for the opposing attacks. “The same intensity continues,” Golla called out to his teammates during a timeout when the score was 9:8.
The belief in the sensation grew, also because Häfner representative Uscins now really turned up the heat and made it 12:10 (27th) with his fourth goal. Knorr and the lively Rune Dahmke even increased the score to 14:11 (29th). “We defended outstandingly, brought in a lot of toughness and dynamism and played courageously up front,” praised DHB sports director Axel Kromer at the break: “We just have to carry on with courage and self-confidence.”
The DHB men continued to give their all, threw themselves into every action and fought until they dropped. But Denmark now showed their full class – and benefited from their squad depth. Emil Nielsen was now allowed to replace Niklas Landin in goal and held one ball after the other. Mikkel Hansen was now in charge in the middle, after whose pass Simon Hald gave Denmark the first lead at 16:15 (36′). After Gidsel scored 26:21 (53′), the decision was made, even though the German team never gave up.