2024-01-10 21:14:00
National coach Alfred Gislason’s team won 27:14 (13:8) against Switzerland in the Düsseldorf football arena, largely thanks to a defensive masterpiece, and celebrated a black, red and gold opening party in front of 53,586 spectators led by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“The boys played themselves into a frenzy in the second half. I’m very relieved how it went today,” said Gislason on ZDF.
Intoxicated by the breathtaking atmosphere, the DHB stars were at their best. At the back, Wolff scraped one ball after the other out of the corners, while at the front, playmaker Juri Knorr (six goals) and his teammates shone with spectacular goals, repeatedly pulling the fans out of their seats. “I would have no objection at all to a winter fairy tale that begins today. And I think it started well,” said Steinmeier euphorically.
In addition to Knorr, Julian Köster and Justus Fischer became the best German throwers in the eagerly awaited world record game with three hits each. With the impressive opening win against the Swiss team led by old playmaker Andy Schmid, the German team headed straight for the main round. Just a win on Sunday (8:30 p.m.) in Berlin against North Macedonia, which lost its first European Championship game against France 29:39, could be enough to advance to the next phase of the tournament.
Even before kick-off, the mood was at an all-time high when Steinmeier ceremoniously opened the first European Championship on German soil. “Thank you for this record crowd,” he called out to the spectators: “We are proud to organize this tournament for spectators all over Europe.” DHB President Andreas Michelmann was also beaming. The European Championships are “an opportunity to make the sport even better known than it already is.”
Captain Johannes Golla and Co. also did the best for their sport – right from the start. Knorr got the game off to a perfect start by hammering the ball into the top right corner to make it 1-0 after 49 seconds. The slight nervousness, which was evident in a few missed throws and bad passes, was not significant because Germany played courageously in defense and Wolff was always there.
Handball European Championship: Andreas Wolff shows an outstanding performance
After just nine minutes, the 2016 European champions had five saves and only two goals conceded – absolutely world class. As a result, the Swiss repeatedly got stuck in the German defense and didn’t score a goal for nine minutes. When DHB right winger Timo Kastening scored to make it 7:3 after a quarter of an hour, a LaOla circled through the wide area. Shortly before half-time, the fans celebrated their keeper with “Wolff” chants.
“What Andi Wolff showed at the back of the goal is impressive,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer at the break. He was also enthusiastic about the atmosphere: “It’s obviously great when you suddenly hear that over 50,000 people are screaming ‘Germany-Germany’. I think that’s exactly what the boys were hoping for.”
In the second half, Germany continued to press the accelerator. Wolff remained hard to overcome at the back, while up front the nimble Kastening, among others, punished the Swiss outsider’s mistakes with lightning-fast counterattacks. The greenhorns Justus Fischer, David Späth, Martin Hanne and Renars Uscins were now also able to prove themselves.
After the rush in Düsseldorf, the full concentration is now on the remaining preliminary round games against North Macedonia and next Tuesday (8.30 p.m./ARD and Dyn) against record world champions France. Only the top two finishers advance to the next phase of the tournament.
Handball European Championship: Germany vs. Switzerland in the live ticker for reading
Conclusion: The DHB team made an absolute dream start to the home European Championship. Wolff nailed his box with nine saves and a rate of 59.09 percent. The defense was strong and Knorr, who was the best German thrower with six goals, particularly shone up front.
60. End in Düsseldorf! Germany wins 27:14.
57. First “oh how beautiful that is” and now the wave goes through the arena. The DHB selection really wanted to ignite euphoria straight away – and that completely succeeded.
53. “Oh, how beautiful that is,” it echoes through the stadium in Düsseldorf seven minutes before the end. It is an absolute dream start for the DHB team, which was not to be expected. A big compliment!
52. The Swiss are now really wild and can thank goalkeeper Portner (11 saves) that they are “only” 12 goals behind. Gislason now even brings Späth for Wolff – the young man should of course enjoy the atmosphere in Düsseldorf on the record and find his way into the European Championships.
47. Now Philipp Weber can also get on the top scorer list. The German team is now on a 5-0 run. 20:10!
44. Switzerland is now in danger of completely falling apart. After another mistake by the Swiss, Kohlbacher finished ice-cold after a fast counter-attack. A little later, Knorr finishes from a good position, but is denied by keeper Portner. Nevertheless: It’s 7:10 p.m., so nothing can burn anymore.
41. A physical illusion, a precise finish – Häfner makes it 17:10. Switzerland coach Suter only knows how to help himself with a time out. Meanwhile, when it comes to DHB selection, the withdrawal behavior is also strong.
39. Despite all the justified adulation for the DHB team, we also have to criticize the Swiss. That’s very poor in attack from the Swiss, who act unimaginatively and extremely error-prone. Schmid in particular has been almost completely taken out of the game by the Germans so far.
36. Golla hits a little too hard and has to leave the plate for two minutes. The Swiss, in the majority, managed to get a free shot, but Wolff defused it with his tenth save. At the front, Kohlbacher is cleared in the circle – 15:9. This means that the DHB team wins its minority 1-0. Strong!
33. Wow, Köster goes to the goal with fire and gets a good pour from the Swiss. Correctly there are seven meters again and Knorr makes short work again.
31. Let’s move on. The second half begins with possession of the ball for Switzerland.
Handball European Championship: Germany vs. Switzerland now in the live ticker – the first half
Half-time conclusion: It’s been a very, very good performance by the German team so far. Let’s not kid ourselves: if anyone had offered national coach Alfred Gislason and his men a five-goal lead at half-time, everyone would have signed immediately. The strongest German players so far are Wolff (8 saves, 53.3 percent blocked balls), Köster (three goals and excellent defense) and Knorr (best German thrower with five goals).
Half time: The first 30 minutes in Düsseldorf are over. Germany leads 13:8 against Switzerland.
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