The German men’s U21 national team won their first test match against the Czech Republic on Friday evening in Lovosice with a score of 29:25 (12:8). Despite several players being out sick and a brief comeback attempt by the hosts, the team coached by Martin Heuberger maintained the upper hand.
The conditions for the team were far from ideal. A virus had struck the squad during their training camp in Dresden, forcing players like Linus Schmid, Noah Hensen, and Max Heydecke to withdraw due to illness. Hans-Lukas Willax stepped in at short notice, traveling directly to Lovosice after an exam in Bayreuth. After a balanced start, the hosts took a 3-2 lead after eight minutes. However, Germany gradually found their rhythm, building a 12-8 lead by halftime thanks to a solid defense and a strong performance from goalkeeper Finn Knaack.
A tough job
After the break, the German team initially struggled to replicate their strong first-half performance. The hosts fought their way back goal by goal, narrowing the gap to 16-17 in the 42nd minute. However, the German team stabilized defensively and responded with a penalty shot by Jan Grüner to extend their lead to 20-17. They maintained this advantage in the final stages, even though the Czech Republic scored to make it 25-29.
Praise for the team’s morale
National coach Martin Heuberger assessed the victory positively, but also saw potential for improvement. We didn’t get off to the best start in the first half, as we initially failed to capitalize on three clear chances, allowing the Czechs to stay in the game until the 20th minute. After that, things improved for us. Our 5-1 defense also worked well, so we were able to go into halftime with a comfortable lead.
, Heuberger explained. He particularly highlighted the performance of Hans-Lukas Willax, who had arrived at short notice: Hats off to him for doing that. I called him this morning; he still had an exam to take. Afterwards, he sat in his car for three hours and drove alone to Lovosice.
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Looking to the future
Heuberger emphasized the morale of his players in light of the absences. I therefore rewarded him with a relatively large amount of playing time, and he repaid that with a good performance. This speaks volumes for the lads and their morale, simply overcoming these illness-related absences and still giving it their all.
, That’s what the national coach said. Looking ahead to the second friendly match on Saturday, he sees room for improvement: We stole two or three balls, especially when we were a man down, or forced the Czechs into errors. That ultimately decided the game.
. His conclusion: I think we can live well with the victory.
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