EM shock followed by clear victory
German hockey men report enthusiastically back
8/21/2023 8:03 p.m
Completely surprisingly, world champion Germany failed at the start of the European Hockey Championships against outsiders Wales. In the second game, the host convincingly repairs the slip.
Germany’s hockey world champions have recovered well from their opening mistake at the European Championships in Mönchengladbach and, after an inspiring 3-0 (3-0) win over the defending champions, the Netherlands, have the best chance of reaching the semi-finals. After the first three points in the tournament, the DHB selection is at the top of the table with four points and can secure first place in the group with another win in the final preliminary round game against France on Wednesday (7.30 p.m.). Even a draw would be enough to advance. The French won their first game 2-0 against Wales.
In the high-class game against the Dutch in front of 9,500 spectators in the packed hockey park, Justus Weigand (1st minute), Niklas Wellen (5th) and Malte Hellwig (28th) scored his second tournament goal for the record European champions, who after the 3-3 in the first game against Wales showed much improvement.
National coach Andre Henning had demanded higher quality over longer periods of play after the first game. The head coach demanded that you hold out your bones and defend the people from the district. His team implemented everything quickly and, with powerful play and high concentration, came to the early double strike by Weigand and waves for a quick 2-0 lead against the co-favorites and third place in the World Cup.
Hellwig made the preliminary decision before the break. The defensive around the strong goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg was much more present than in the opening game. The keeper from German champions Rot-Weiss Köln kept his team in the game with a number of saves and did not concede a goal for the first time.