Home title within reach
DHB juniors storm into the World Cup final
7/1/2023, 7:46 p.m
The semi-final ends with a ten-goal lead, the German U21 handball players confidently book the ticket for the World Cup final. Captain Renars Uscins and Co. clearly dominate the game against Serbia. In Berlin they can now complete the title demanded by Bob Hanning.
Germany’s U21 handball players are just one step away from winning the title at the home World Cup. Coach Martin Heuberger’s team also won the semi-finals in Berlin against Serbia with 40:30 (17:15), in the final on Sunday (6pm/Eurosport) it’s now against the last strong Hungary. Germany beckons the third World Cup title in the U21 area and the first in 13 years.
Backcourt player Renars Uscins (9 goals) from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf and left winger Florian Kranzmann (8) from GWD Minden were Germany’s best throwers of the evening. The duel started quite tight, but as the game went on, the width of the German squad became noticeable. After the half-time break, Heuberger’s team pulled away more and more, the strongest formation in Hungary got tired, and Germany was able to add more from the bench.
The talent of this vintage had already been shown in 2021, when Heuberger also triumphed at the U19 European Championship. Bob Hanning, managing director of Bundesliga club Füchse Berlin, had demanded the title even before the tournament started: “Anything but gold would be a disappointment for me.” The selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) continues to live up to its favorite status. She made it through to the knockout stages with a clean sheet, followed by impressive performances against Denmark (31:26) and now against Serbia in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.
For the fifth time after 1983, 2007, 2009 and 2011, Germany is in the final of the U21 World Cup, and the DHB team has won gold in the last two participations. For Hungary, who clearly won against Iceland (37:30) in the other semi-final, it is only the second final. In 1977, at the tournament’s premiere, they lost the final to the USSR.