The German national handball team says goodbye to the home European Championship with a defeat. The medal dream bursts in a desolate first half. They get the bad impression repaired, but not the result.
What happened in the Cologne Arena?
How much air is in is measured in bars. The unit for “air out” could now be called 1 DHB. In their last game at this European Championship, the German national handball team delivered their most harmless performance in the first half and was on the verge of creating an unworthy last memory of this tournament with full halls and a great atmosphere. It got a lot better as the encounter went on, but it wasn’t really good anymore. At the end of the long-awaited game for third place, the German players received consoling words from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Swedes received the medals after a score of 34:31.
Now that bronze was at stake against Sweden, only fragments of the extremely intense defensive game from the semi-final against Denmark could be seen. The attack lacked penetration again without Juri Knorr, who had dismantled himself in the first few minutes. And of the opportunities that were created, too many remained unused. There was basically no tempo play.
When hall announcer Kevin Gerwin shouted “HOW IS THE MOOD FOR YOU?” twenty seconds before halftime into the crowded Lanxess Arena. you wanted to laugh bitterly. The mood had long since adapted to the game. As was so often the case in the days of Cologne, where there was no spark to set each other on fire! The home advantage in the final phase of the first half had long since existed only as a show. Just seconds later, Sweden scored to make the score 18:12 at halftime. The German players, who are so good at gathering energy as a team, showed no emotions early on. The Swedes, on the other hand, who lost their semi-final against France by a narrow margin after extra time, were generally too fast for the German game. And they had an outstanding goalkeeper in Andreas Palicka. It was a sad first 30 minutes if you are a fan of German handball.
The conditions were great, at least emotionally: the last game at home, the chance for the greatest success since the Olympic bronze medal in 2016. They wanted to make themselves proud after a physically and emotionally demanding European Championship between crisis mode and euphoria. They had previously drawn confidence from the great battle they had given the Danes. The Swedes, on the other hand, were sent to emotional hell in their defeat against France: a controversial miracle goal after the final siren had destroyed their dream of the final.
In the second half they offered the Swedes a real handball game, the hall was there and Juri Knorr was there too. Not everything went brilliantly, but it went intensely. They made up goal after goal, had rediscovered their emotions, defense and a touch of tempo and were at one point within a goal. National coach Alfred Gislason gave his team a “huge compliment” for the second half. It wasn’t enough anymore, but at least they repaired the desolate last impression a little. “I’m proud that I was able to experience this tournament,” said a completely dismayed captain Johannes Golla at the hall microphone. “But we made a lot of mistakes in the first half.”
With the final whistle the air went out of the German players again, completely disappointed and exhausted, Julian Köster put his hands on his knees and looked forever at the hall floor. Jannik Kohlbacher, Golla, Andreas Wolff – everyone had nothing but emptiness in their eyes. The fire had long since gone out.
In the end, the fans celebrated the team that had made things so difficult for themselves. A small success that no one could be happy about. “Today the disappointment predominates,” said Golla. They had already thrown away their great success, the bronze medal, in the first half.
What reaction did Juri Knorr show?
Juri Knorr had dismantled himself after losing the semi-final against Denmark: He “didn’t leave everything on the table” – he “let himself be paralyzed a bit by the fear of the magnitude of the moment,” he said. And the day after there was neither defiance nor optimism: “In my head it’s only the semi-finals, not a game for third place.” Knorr did not show a performance against the Danes, after all the best team in the world, that the German team would have needed for a sporting miracle. But the director’s self-annihilation was also inappropriate. “I don’t have much to blame him for,” Gislason said.
Now the German playmaker started as if he wanted to repair what, of course, cannot be repaired with delay. Knorr went over the top and caused a lot of damage in the first few minutes. In your own game. After just twelve minutes and numerous, sometimes wild, missed throws, the director, who had previously been elected to the tournament’s all-star team, disappeared onto the bench.
At the beginning of the second half, the 23-year-old tried again and at least tightened up a little, even if he continued to make a lot of mistakes. Too many to win this game. The heart of the German game beats to the beat that Knorr sets. If the playmaker loses his rhythm, it becomes dangerous. This time, despite an improved performance, he really gave himself a reason to castigate himself severely.
Was there a silver lining?
The problem area in the right back will soon be resolved. That is the good news that this European Championship brought. The fans had already made Renars Uscins “Man of the Match” after the game against Denmark for his courageous performance, and now the U21 world champion has triumphed again. The left-hander scored eight times against Sweden’s world-class goalkeeper Palicka and Tobias Thulin, with four missed throws, a strong rate. Even though Uscins made mistakes, he impressed with speed, courage and a powerful move towards the goal.
Things that had recently been missing too often from the German backcourt, which was too static in some moments, in crunch time against big opponents. The World Cup will take place in Germany in 2027. Until then, Uscins could be promoted permanently to the international class in his position. It would be a huge building block that German handball urgently needs in order to be able to be at the top again in the near future.
What is left of the day?
Germany has lost another knockout game, an all-or-nothing duel. Since the 2016 Olympics, various DHB generations have been waiting to deliver once again when it comes to the really big goals. So the hosts say goodbye to the home European Championship with only four wins from nine games (!), where they finally wanted to take the next step. National coach Alfred Gislason assured that they had moved closer to the top in the world these days. Nevertheless, the team says goodbye with three defeats in a row.
“We’re playing against three top teams – France, Denmark, Sweden – and everyone has to give everything they’ve got over 60 minutes to beat us,” said backcourt star Köster, who found things more difficult again towards the end of the tournament. “That’s a first step.”
Ultimately, and this is also part of the truth of the partly inspiring performances against France and Denmark, the German team had no realistic chance of winning in any game against the top teams who had crossed their path between Düsseldorf at the start and Cologne as their longed-for place. Even if they clung to their goals with great struggle.
At the moment it’s enough to annoy the handball greats and stress them out. When it comes down to it, home advantage doesn’t help either. Not yet, at least that’s one thing we learned from this tournament. Because time is playing for the German team. With Uscins, one of the boys has become the focus, and the deserved Kai Häfner’s time as a regular in the right back is likely to be coming to an end.
The national coach had little trust in the other three U21 world champions – David Späth, Justus Fischer and Nils Lichtlein. But their time will also come. Goalkeeper Späth has already proven in the Bundesliga that he can reach a very high level. And playmaker Lichtlein enjoys an excellent international reputation. The left-hander is a suitable alternative to Juri Knorr. What people sometimes forget: Knorr is also only 23 years old, pivot Johannes Golla sometimes delivered an inspiring performance offensively and in the middle block – and is only 26 years old.
How were the top politicians received?
Let’s think back two weeks to the preliminary round of the German handballers at the venue in Berlin: Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers Robert Habeck and Nancy Faeser had to endure terrible whistling concerts one after the other. DHB captain Golla found this “shocking”. Now, at the end of the tournament, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and the Schleswig-Holstein state father Daniel Günther visited the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. They were all greeted with warm applause.