DHB team takes “big step”
From now on the time is ticking for Germany
By Till Erdenberger, Cologne
January 29, 2024, 1:08 p.m
The German national handball team concludes the home European Championships with success, but the big hit is never within reach. The vaunted home advantage doesn’t help either. But looking into the future is encouraging. However, a great pressure situation quickly looms.
When it was all over, they left the European Handball Championship through a side exit: Renars Uscins and Nils Lichtlein had their shoes in their hands and strolled out of the gigantic Lanxess Arena on foot towards the hotel. They had previously missed out on the medal they dreamed of with the German national team in the game for third place. After the end of the medal ceremony, when fireworks were started over the hall, marking the end of this unique tournament, they took a quick look around. Then they continued on their way unmolested. The fireworks were for the others. In the end, the German team was proud of reaching the semi-finals, but also disappointed with how fourth place ultimately came about.
The next time the arena, the “Wembley of German handball”, hosts a grand final weekend of the best national teams in the world, they want to be part of the spectacle until the end. Be right in the middle when the medals are awarded and not just a spectator. In 2027, Germany will host the Handball World Cup, and then at the latest the team will make its next attempt to attack the big names in the sport. All the France, Denmark and Sweden that this time you could only stress but never really annoy.
“We have a lot of talent”
The EHF EURO 2024 was, it has to be said, now that the fireworks have died down, was not a great success story for the German team. Without question, she achieved a big goal with fourth place. She was at least convincing in terms of combat and even enthusiastic against the overpowering Danes. But the record of four wins from nine games is anything but impressive. The last three games of the tournament were all lost. As the tournament entered its decisive phase, the German team lost its energy and spirit again.
The gap to the top nations has narrowed, they announced in the team and in the association unison. That is probably true, but even with the home advantage and almost 20,000 fans in Cologne behind us, the conditions in European handball in 2024 have not been broken, but – on the contrary – have been cemented.
But that – and this tournament also brought this realization – doesn’t have to stay that way forever. “We don’t have the experience of Denmark, France and Sweden, but we have a lot of talent,” said national coach Alfred Gislason after the final stop of his team’s big journey, which began with the world record spectacle in Düsseldorf in front of 53,000 spectators and came to a disappointing end in Cologne . Time now plays for Germany. And that has a lot to do with Nils Lichtlein and Renars Uscins. “The new players in the squad gave us new options that could be very valuable in the future. That was a step forward,” praised captain Johannes Golla in his conclusion to the European Championship.
Little lights as an alternative
The problem area in the right backcourt will soon be resolved, where Kai Häfner, who is deserving but falls off too often at the highest level, can no longer meet high demands throughout the tournament. The fans had already made Uscins “Man of the Match” after the game against Denmark for his courageous performance, and the U21 world champion came up trumps again against Sweden. The left-hander scored eight times against Sweden’s world-class goalkeeper Andreas 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 the German backcourt, which was too static in many moments, had been missing too often in crunch time against their big opponents. The World Cup will take place in Germany in 2027. Until then, the man from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf could be permanently promoted to the international class in his position.
Nils Lichtlein already has an excellent international reputation. Especially in Denmark, after the semi-finals, they asked themselves why the Berliner, who was MVP of the U21 World Cup last summer, didn’t get more playing time at this home tournament. Especially in the games in which the regular playmaker Juri Knorr was noticeably struggling with himself and was on the edge of the limit. Philipp Weber, whom Gislason had chosen as Knorr’s number one representative, acted unhappily too often. If Lichtlein keeps up with the great expectations placed on him, the German team will send an exciting playmaker duo to the World Cup in 2027.
The pressure remains high
The other pillars of the team also have a lot of future ahead of them: Captain Johannes Golla, who exudes the aura of an elder statesman in the form of a one-man roll squad, is only 26 years old. Julian Köster and Knorr, on whom a lot of expectations were placed at the end of the European Championships but who are still in the middle of their development, are only 23 years old. There are also the other two U21 world champions, David Späth and Justus Fischer, who were unable to make any significant impact in the tournament. But their time will also come. Goalkeeper Späth has already proven in the Bundesliga for his Rhein-Neckar Löwen that he can reach a very high level.
The merciless schedule in handball does not allow teams to develop in peace. Development always takes place under high pressure. Every year there is at least one major tournament under strict observation by the sporting nation, and in 2024 there will be two. Ideally. Due to the defeat in the game for third place, the German team still has to earn its ticket to the Olympic Games in the summer through its own qualifying tournament. The opponents in March will be Austria, Croatia and Algeria, only the first two of the group of four will go to Paris. There is no alternative to successful qualification; handball needs attention in the struggle with other sports in the shadow of football.
The 2024 European Championship with all its accompaniments – the gigantic dimensions, the great pressure from the host, games against three of the best teams in the world and the drama of having to reinvent themselves again during the tournament – offered the German team a lot that they can take with you. Development must continue. And they have a lot of plans themselves, but there is certainly no feeling of satisfaction. Even before the game for third place, the DHB team had clearly rejected Cologne Mayor Henriette Reeker’s invitation to be celebrated for a possible bronze medal in the city’s historic town hall: “Bronze would be a great finish, but we are with it “We’re not at the end of our journey. That’s why we don’t deserve such a reception yet,” Captain Golla announced for his team.
There is reason for optimism that in the coming years the DHB team will no longer have to leave a big final weekend through the side exit before the fireworks.