World Cup ended actually sealed: Germany collapses within ten minutes

World Cup actually sealed
Germany collapses within ten minutes

In purely mathematical terms, it is still possible for the German handball players to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. However, the chances are not particularly realistic. In the all-important main round match against Spain, the team improved significantly after the break, but then declined radically quickly.

Too many missed throws in the game of fate: The German handball players are about to end at the World Cup in Egypt. The team of national coach Alfred Gislason conceded its second tournament failure at 28:32 (13:16) in the groundbreaking main round showdown with European champions Spain and can no longer make the targeted entry into the quarter-finals on its own. Even seven goals from the best German thrower Timo Kastening were not enough to win in the new capital of Egypt for the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB), whose hopes of progressing after an evaluation of chances that were too weak fell to a minimum with 2: 4 points.

Nevertheless, goalkeeper Johannes Bitter's dejection was surprisingly little to be felt. "We played a really great game. We showed against the most ball-safe team how to deal with them. That two or three mistakes happen that break our necks can happen. We don't have to leave the hall with our heads hanging go, "he said on ZDF. Coach Gislason was significantly more annoyed. He also complained on ZDF: "We played with too much risk. We ruined ourselves with passes that were too risky, which ended up in our own network, and the many free balls that we didn't use."

Spain – Germany 32:28 (16:13)

Spain: Corrales, Perez de Vargas – Fernandez (6), A. Dushebayev (5), Sole (5/3), Entrerrios (4), D. Dushebayev (3), Sarmiento (2), Maqueda (2), Canellas (2 ), Figueras (2), Gomez Abello (1).
Germany: Wolff (Kielce), Bitter (Stuttgart) – Kastening (Melsungen / 7), Häfner (Melsungen / 6), Golla (Flensburg / 4), Gensheimer (Rhein-Neckar Löwen / 3), Schiller (Göppingen / 3/3), Weber (Leipzig / 2), Drux (Berlin / 2), Knorr (Minden / 1), Kühn (Melsungen), Böhm (Hanover), Groetzki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Schmidt (Bergischer HC), Firnhaber (Erlangen), Preuss (Magdeburg).
Referee: Gubica / Milosevic (Croatia)
Time penalties: 3: 5

In order to have a chance at the knockout round, Germany has to win the games against Poland on Saturday and against Brazil on Monday and is dependent on two defeats by Hungary (6: 0 points) or Spain (5: 1) – what is almost unrealistic. The first two of the main round group I qualify for the quarter-finals. Even before the start of the "Do-or-Die" game against Spain, Gislason set an example. Despite very poor tournament performance so far, DHB captain Uwe Gensheimer played on the left wing from the start. In the back room, the DHB coach relied on Paul Drux, who had shown good approaches last Tuesday in the 28:29 bankruptcy against Hungary at the preliminary round.

Fatal phase of weakness

The experienced Spaniards received the German attack with an offensive 5: 1 cover, the Gislason team only brought speed into the game with difficulty. Two of the first four German goals resulted from seven meters, for which the sure Gensheimer substitute Marcel Schiller came in from the bank. "We have to move better," demanded Gislason in the first time-out, his team trailing two goals for the first time – 4-6 (11th). In the attack, Germany always found means against the unorthodox cover of the favorite in six-on-six, but the exploitation of chances left a lot to be desired, especially with free throws.

Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, outstanding support in the triumph over Spain in the 2016 European Championship final, also had a hard time getting into the game, as he did against Hungary. Johannes Bitter replaced him in the first section. The gap grew at 9:13 (25th) to four goals. While the DHB team had to work hard for every goal, Spain kept coming back to easy counter goals. "Withdrawal, men. We don't need to look at the referee," complained Gensheimer during a break. In general, however, the DHB team played a decent game, which team manager Oliver Roggisch also recognized at halftime on the ZDF microphone: "Actually everything is okay, we just have to make better use of the opportunities."

The German team did that after the break, it stayed ice cold in front of the goal and showed a passionate and combative impeccable performance. In addition, Bitter kept getting a hand on the ball. At 20:19 (38th) through Kastening, Germany took the lead for the first time since the start of the game. The DHB top around Bob Hanning and Andreas Michelmann jumped up in the stands. Spain, two-time world championship champion, was now in demand as a pursuer in front of the eyes of IHF President Hassan Moustafa, going through a 5-0 run from 22:25 (45th) to 27:25 (51st) within five minutes. even back in the lead. Germany failed to score for almost ten minutes. The team did not finally recover from this short but severe phase of weakness.

. (tagsToTranslate) sport (t) handball national team (t) handball world championship (t) handball