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Handball players ready for the World Cup: all corona tests negative
6.35 p.m.: Germany’s handball players can start the journey to the World Cup in full. The corona tests required by the world association IHF before the tournament came out negative for all 18 players from the World Cup squad of national coach Alfred Gislason. This was announced by the German Handball Federation on Tuesday.
“We were confident, but of course there was a little uncertainty. Now we are happy that we can stay on course,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer. At the EM 2022 there were a total of 18 positive corona cases in the German team.
The DHB selection concludes its preparation for the final round in Poland and Sweden on Wednesday as planned with a final training session in the training camp in Barsinghausen. On Thursday, the German World Cup entourage will fly to Kattowitz, where the first preliminary round match against Asian champions Qatar will take place on Friday. Other opponents in Group E are Serbia and Algeria.
Dane Mensah tested positive for corona virus shortly before the Handball World Cup
Tuesday, January 10, 11:02 a.m.: On the way to the hoped-for third world title in a row, Denmark may have to do without Mads Mensah Larsen at the start of the handball world championship in Poland and Sweden. The backcourt player from SG Flensburg-Handewitt tested positive for the corona virus, as the Danish Handball Association announced on Tuesday. The 31-year-old was therefore temporarily isolated three days before Denmark’s opening game against Belgium. He is now awaiting further tests that should finally clarify whether he can play against the Belgians in Malmö on Friday (8.30 p.m.) or not. Mensah was quoted as saying in a statement from the association that he feels completely healthy.
According to the federation, Mensah is the only player to miss the penultimate training session on Danish soil before leaving for Sweden on Tuesday. The corona tests of all other players and supervisors were therefore negative.
The World Cup squad of German handball players is set
Monday, January 9, 1:52 p.m.: National coach Alfred Gislason has nominated 18 players for the Handball World Championship from January 11th to 29th in Poland and Sweden.
The squad of the DHB selection:
Tor: Andreas Wolff (Vive Kielce/31 years/128 internationals/13 goals), Joel Birlehm (Rhein-Neckar Löwen/25/6/0)
Left Wing: Lukas Mertens (SC Magdeburg/26/14/26), Rune Dahmke (THW Kiel/29/43/76)
Back room left: Paul Drux (Foxes Berlin/27/118/207), Philipp Weber (SC Magdeburg/30/66/157), Julian Köster (VfL Gummersbach/22/19/35)
Center back: Juri Knorr (Rhein-Neckar Löwen/22/28/60), Luca Witzke (SC DHfK Leipzig/23/14/24), Simon Ernst (SC DHfK Leipzig/28/56/38)
back room right: Kai Häfner (MT Melsungen/33/122/283), Djibril M’Bengue (Bergischer HC/30/11/11), Christoph Steinert (HC Erlangen/32/15/34)
Right Wing: Patrick Groetzki (Rhein-Neckar Löwen/33/158/382), Lukas Zerbe (TBV Lemgo Lippe/26/18/27)
Kreis: Johannes Golla (SG Flensburg-Handewitt/25/50/163), Jannik Kohlbacher (Rhein-Neckar Löwen/27/85/170), Tim Zechel (HC Erlangen/26/7/7)
The team will start the tournament against Qatar on Friday January 13th.
German handball players lose World Cup test against Iceland
Saturday, January 7, 5:48 p.m.: Germany’s handball players were not able to reward themselves with a win for a strong performance in the penultimate World Cup test against Iceland. The long-dominant DHB selection lost to the sixth place in the European Championship on Saturday in Bremen by 30:31 (18:14). In front of 8,872 spectators in the sold-out ÖVB Arena, captain Johannes Golla and playmaker Juri Knorr were the top scorers for national coach Alfred Gislason’s team, each with six goals.
On Sunday (3.30 p.m./ZDF.de) both teams will meet again in Hanover for the World Cup dress rehearsal. In the final round in Poland and Sweden, which begins next Wednesday, the German team will play in the preliminary round against Asian champions Qatar, Serbia and Algeria.
The German team needed a short warm-up time to find their rhythm and quickly fell 3-0 behind. Only in the 5th minute did Philipp Weber score the first goal. Gradually, however, the host adapted better to the opponent and equalized at 4:4 (10th). Shortly thereafter, right winger Patrick Groetzki provided the lead for the first time with his goal to make it 7:6.
The defense was now more compact and behind them experienced goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who was there in the 2016 European Championship triumph, proved to be a strong support. With a number of saves, the 31-year-old played a major role in increasing the lead to four goals at 14:10 (23rd).
Playmaker Knorr shone in attack. The 22-year-old from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen often skilfully staged his teammates and was always looking for a finish himself. Gislason, for whom it was the first duel with his home country, followed the action on the sidelines with satisfaction.
In the final phase of the first half, the DHB selection remained focused and took the four-goal cushion with them into the break, during which they were greeted with great applause by the enthusiastic audience.
As at the beginning, the German team also slept through the starting phase in the second half. Within just three minutes, the Icelanders came within a goal. But the Gislason protégés were unimpressed. With their own 6:0 run to 23:17, the DHB team even pulled ahead by six goals.
The national coach used the clear advantage to experiment with personnel and changed almost completely. Joel Birlehm replaced Wolff between the posts, and Leipzig’s Luca Witzke was able to prove himself as a playmaker.
The many changes led to a break in the German game. Almost eight minutes before the end, the Icelanders were close to a goal again at 26:25 and a little later they took the lead again for the first time. Gislason reacted and sent his top trio in the backcourt and regular goalkeeper Wolff onto the floor again. But that didn’t help in the end.
DHB captain Golla is looking forward to the World Cup: “Are a good unit”
Friday, January 6 at 2:39 p.m: The chaotic Corona days in Bratislava have burned themselves deep into Johannes Golla’s consciousness. At the European Championship last year, the captain of the German national handball team experienced an exceptional situation in view of a total of 18 positive cases in the DHB team and all players being isolated for days in the hotel room between the EM games, which fully challenged him on and off the floor borders led.
“It’s an event we still talk about and share. That was an important part of the path the team is now taking,” said the line runner from SG Flensburg-Handewitt in retrospect.
Golla and his teammates want to draw on these experiences at the World Championships, which begin next Wednesday. “The EM showed how much quality there is across the board and also bonded us personally. We are a good unit, everyone can get along with everyone. There are always large groups communicating with each other. No one is left out, everyone gets involved,” said Golla, emphasizing: “I really want to achieve something sporty with the team.”
How good the 18-man World Cup squad of national coach Alfred Gislason is will be shown in the two international matches against Iceland, sixth in the European Championship, on Saturday (4:15 p.m./ZDF) in Bremen and Sunday (3:30 p.m./ZDF.de) in Hanover . “This is a team against which we have to invest everything and will show us our weaknesses. Such tests take us further and show us where we stand,” said Golla.
German handball players go to the World Cup with confidence
4:35 p.m.: For Philipp Weber from SC Magdeburg, the forthcoming Handball World Championship is not just about a good placement. “We’re going to the World Cup to get our best and to beat big opponents,” said the backcourt player of the “Magdeburger Volksstimme”. The minimum goal is to reach the quarterfinals, where the German selection could compete with opponents like France or Spain. In Group E, the tournament, which takes place in Poland and Sweden from 11 to 29 January, will initially face Qatar, Serbia and Algeria.
With 64 caps (152 goals) and a total of five appearances in major tournaments, Weber is one of the more experienced players in the squad. In addition, winning the Club World Cup again and taking part in the Champions League with the SCM raised him to another level. “Playing in the Champions League is a great feeling. Even as a child, I dreamed of competing with the best,” said the 30-year-old.
Football referee Ittrich sees handball as a role model
Tuesday, January 03, 2023, 10:35 a.m.: Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich would like to see a tighter set of rules in football based on the model of handball. Ittrich told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Monday) that he hopes that referee decisions will be acknowledged less often with player protests. For example, if a handball player is treated on the field for a possible injury, he then has to leave the field – and if you don’t let the ball lie, you get a seven-meter penalty against your own team. “In terms of football, that would mean: For a tactical foul in midfield, there is a free kick seventeen meters in front of your own goal. How often would there be such fouls? If someone rolls over three times and needs a doctor, I say: no problem, doctor is coming, you’re out for three minutes. What do you think, how fast he gets up! I would wish for that,” said the 43-year-old director from Hamburg.
In his opinion, the issue of pack formation and complaints could also be better dealt with through stricter rules. “You insulted me? You get a 10 minute cool down penalty. Go cycling, like football, so you won’t get cold. We can learn a lot from handball there, said Ittrich. “How can it be that after a decision by ten men I’m being hit on?” The referees would call this behavior “bullying of the referee”. Yellow has, yellow-red. Then it’s seven against eleven. That would be fine with me, “said the referee.
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