Handball
Big win against Iran: DHB women reach the main round of the World Cup
National coach Markus Gaugisch and the DHB women qualified early for the main round of the World Cup. photo
© Claus Fisker/Ritzau Scanpix Photo/AP/dpa/archive image
The DHB team overcomes the first World Cup hurdle and reaches the main round. Handball dwarf Iran is not a test. The final preliminary round game against Poland on Monday is still important.
The German handball players made it to the World Cup in Scandinavia early Moved into the main round.
The DHB selection also easily won their second preliminary round game against the blatant outsiders Iran 45:22 (25:12) and thus booked their ticket for the second phase of the tournament. The best German thrower in Herning, Denmark was Johanna Stockschläder with eight hits.
The team of national coach Markus Gaugisch narrowly won the opening game on Thursday against Japan. The final preliminary round game on Monday against Poland will probably be about winning the important group. The teams take their points from the preliminary round into the main round.
There, Germany is likely to face title candidates Denmark as well as Serbia and Romania in a group of six. The best two teams qualify for the quarterfinals.
Iran not a real touchstone
For the first time in its international history, the DHB team had to play against Iran. The Asians are only taking part in a World Cup for the second time. Your only goal is not to come last. Their main problem is the lack of international experience. Only one player, goalkeeper Fatemeh Khalili, plays abroad.
And so it was already clear before the duel that handball dwarf Iran would not be a real test for the DHB team. Regardless of whether it was one-on-one, attempts from the backcourt or in terms of speed: the Asians were inferior in all respects.
And yet the German team found it harder than expected in the first few minutes in front of 1,800 spectators. In attack, the DHB women sometimes failed because of the Iranian keeper, and in defense, as against Japan, the arrangement did not work optimally. The outsider repeatedly scored goals from the circle in the early stages – in the second half the German defense was more compact.
Class difference clearly noticeable
The fact that victory was never in danger was also due to gifts from the Iranian women. The fourth-place finisher at the Asian Championships relied on seven outfield players when they had the ball, which left their own goal empty. At the same time, the underdog lost a lot of the ball and the DHB players were able to score easily from their own half.
After 20 minutes the lead was already 9 goals. As a result, the class difference became increasingly noticeable. Iran was completely overwhelmed by the speed of the Germans. The game in front of almost empty stands was more like a training session than a World Cup game.
Before the duel, the DHB team warned that the religion of opponents who play in headscarves should be treated with respect. The German squad acted with the necessary severity, but always gave the Iranians time to adjust the headscarf.