Germany opens the European Handball Championships in the Düsseldorf football stadium. The opponent is Switzerland – there is a world record even before the throw-off.
- Handball European Championship: Germany against Switzerland
- Wolff makes the Swiss despair: Germany superior in the first half
- This Live ticker The DHB team’s start at the European Handball Championships will be continually updated.
LIVE: Germany – Switzerland 13:9 (13:8)
| Germany: | Späth, Wolff – Häfner, Hanne, Heymann, Knorr, Köster, Steinert, Uscins, Weber – Dahmke, Mertens, Kastening – Fischer, Golla, Kohlbacher |
| Switzerland: | Grazioli, Portner – Aellen, Ben, Kusio, Maroos, Raemy, Rubin, Schmid, Zehnder M. – Gerbl, Lier, Tynowski, Zehnder S. – Laube, Meister, Willecke |
| Viewers: | 53,000 |
| Venue: | Merkur Spiel-Arena Düsseldorf |
KICK-OFF! The second half is underway.
Halftime – The German national handball team lived up to the record crowd in Düsseldorf in the first half and worked out a brilliant starting position for the second round. Led by the outstanding keeper Wolff (defense rate over 50 percent) and the strong playmaker Knorr (5 goals), the DHB team controls the game. The German team only conceded eight goals.
HALFTIME! The first 30 minutes are over.
30th minute: Häfner finds left winger Mertens with a lot of overview, but the Magdeburger misses his throw. We go into the break with a five-goal lead. Strong first half from the German team.
28th minute: Gislason takes another time out shortly before halftime and gives his team instructions. The Swiss caught themselves a bit in the last few minutes.
26th minute: Youngster Knorr is released well and takes on responsibility once again. The Swiss lack conviction. Even Andy Schmid can’t put his stamp on the game yet.
24th minute: The Swiss can now keep the distance, but Germany keeps the game under control. The bell also rings at the circle, Golla scores.
Wolff makes the Swiss despair: Germany is superior in the first half
18th minute: A strong Andi Wolff and rock-solid coverage are causing problems for Switzerland. The Swiss hardly get any free throws. If someone hits the box, the DHB keeper has it. Knorr puts the next egg in Portner’s nest, the game is a one-way street.
17th minute: Köster is celebrated for a block, shortly afterwards the currently dismayed Swiss lose the ball. Mertens scores on the quick counterattack. 8:3.
15th minute: Kastening increases the lead to five goals after a nice move – the Swiss take a timeout to slow down the run. This can be done well in the Düsseldorf Arena!
14th minute: Germany manages to pull ahead easily for the first time! Wolff makes the Swiss despair. Up front, Hüne Köster in particular presents himself accurately. 6:3 after 14 minutes.
9th minute: Wolff holds almost everything. The goalkeeper, who is under contract in Poland, currently has a rate of 71 percent of balls saved. World class!
6th minute: Germany sets the tone again through Köster. Wolff has already made three saves in the German box, two of which were spectacular. The ambitious keeper is on fire!
4th minute: A few missed throws on both sides, it’s a bit of a wild start. Not surprising – the setting is completely new territory for everyone involved. Häfner makes it 2-1, then the Swiss superstar Schmid equalizes.
1st minute: And immediately the ball fidgets in the net! Juri Knorr scores the Germans’ first goal of the tournament. Andreas Wolff also comes into the game well and parries his first ball. Good start for the DHB team.
KICK-OFF! Let’s start in the Düsseldorf Arena! Germany versus Switzerland – who will win the second game of the tournament?
Update, 8:41 p.m.: Backcourt player Nils Lichtlein will not be in the game today.
Update, 8:28 p.m.: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just ceremoniously opened the European Handball Championship. He himself played handball near Duisburg as a youth and insisted on opening the event personally. This is followed by a live performance by the Berlin band Culcha Candela.
Update, 8:15 p.m.: It starts in half an hour, the DHB team starts the home European Championship! The first game against Switzerland is very important. With a good performance, Gislason’s team wants to infect the fans and ignite handball euphoria in the country.
Handball European Championship: Germany against Switzerland today in the live ticker
Update from January 10th, 7:36 p.m.: Another hour or so and then things will get serious for the German national handball team. Although Germany is hosting the European Championships, Alfred Gislason’s team did not play the opening game. The first duels in the Düsseldorf Arena were the German group opponents France and North Macedonia.
The favored French prevailed 39:29 by quickly clearing things up after a hard-fought first quarter of an hour and subsequently controlling the game. Does the DHB team also start with a victory? The throw is not far away. You can find the official German 18-man squad for the European Championships here.
First report from January 10th:
Düsseldorf – In front of a world record crowd of 53,000 spectators, Germany’s handball players start the European Championship in their own country in the Düsseldorf football stadium. At the start of the home European Championship from January 10th to 28th, the German Handball Association’s selection will meet Switzerland on Wednesday (8.45 p.m./TV information can be found here).
National coach Alfred Gislason’s team goes into the game as favorites against the Swiss, who feature former Bundesliga star Andy Schmid. Other preliminary round opponents of the DHB team, which is dreaming of the semi-finals at the European Championships, are North Macedonia and record world champion France.
The European Handball Championship in the football stadium is a novelty – Swiss superstar is worried about his pee break
Before the start of the European Championship against Germany, the Swiss handball player Andy Schmid described the backdrop in the Düsseldorf football stadium as “it takes getting used to and surreal”.
“Everything is different. I usually go to the toilet again during the warm-up. The path is a little further here now. I have to be careful that my lactate doesn’t skyrocket,” said the 40-year-old playmaker.
Germany starts against Switzerland: national handball coach Gislason can’t wait
Germany’s handball players are starting their medal hunt at the home European Championships in good spirits and full of energy. “We have been looking forward to the start of the European Championships for a long time and are really looking forward to the game, even though we know that we have to put in a very good performance,” said national coach Alfred Gislason after the final training session on Tuesday in Düsseldorf.
With our live ticker you won’t miss a minute of the game. Kickoff is at 8:45 p.m. (epp/dpa/SID)