Norway is the first world-class opponent for the German national team at the World Cup. Sander Sagosen, probably the world’s best handball player, doesn’t exactly freeze in awe before the duel.
If you ask the German handball players about the last main round game against Norway on Monday (8:30 p.m., ARD), you get resolute answers: “Of course we want to win this game,” says Lukas Mertens. “These are the games for which you play a World Cup,” says Julian Köster. The national coach sounds a little more cautious: “We can surprise against Norway, but we have to play very well for that.” Realistically speaking, the opponents have all been good so far, but none were of world-class format. That will change in the decisive game against Norway to win the group, then Olympic champions France or Spain will be waiting in the quarter-finals. “Two teams that can win the title here,” says Gislason.
Of course, the German handball players unleashed a euphoria with their sometimes enthusiastic performances, almost five million TV viewers in Germany witnessed the ultimately sovereign 33:26 win against the Netherlands, which secured participation in the quarter-finals early. Quite apart from the 6250 spectators in the Arena Spodek in Katowice, who conjured up a first-class home game atmosphere in the huge arena – which in turn helps the players a lot, as they always emphasize. But if you look at the Holland game soberly, the German team had some problems in the first half against opponents who are still some distance from the world class. The game was flawed, playmaker Juri Knorr took some unprepared throws, the tempo game didn’t take place. And Norway is a team with plenty of world-class players who tend to punish that.
The Scandinavians were correspondingly self-confident after their easy 30:17 against Qatar. “Germany are a very strong team, but things are going well here,” said Magnus Röd, backcourt player at SG Flensburg-Handewitt. Harald Reinkind even ennobled the opponent as “world class”, but recalled prominent absences such as Hendrik Pekeler and Patrick Wiencek, teammates at THW Kiel. And Sander Sagosen didn’t freeze in awe either: “They’re in a good mood, so are we, let’s see.”
Because it remains to be said that the German team has not yet achieved anything, as Axel Kromer, DHB sports director, correctly stated: “With the quarter-finals, we will not go down in the history books.”