Next outstanding performance of the German handball players at the World Cup in Poland and Sweden: They didn’t give the Netherlands a chance either at 33:26-(15:12). Germany is early in the quarterfinals.
It was again a convincing performance in all areas against the Dutch. The Germans whirled on the offensive, and in addition to a strong defense they had a goalkeeper in Andreas Wolff at the back who apparently found his old world-class form back.
Whether it is enough for more than the quarter-finals may already be seen on Monday (23.1.2023, 8.30 p.m., live on the first and in the stream) when the last main round game against Norway is about winning the group and then the first heavyweight in this World Cup tournament waiting for the German team.
Oranje can only keep up for 15 minutes
The German team only had slight problems finding their way into the game in the first few minutes. Juri Knorr and Julian Köster made a few mistakes. But because the defense was wide awake and stable from the start, the tide turned quickly. Goalkeeper Wolff also clenched his fist early on, among other things he saved the first seven meters of the tournament from Kay Smits – the backcourt shooter had previously scored eleven times from the point.
At the score of 5:4, the Germans took the lead for the first time. The Dutch were stubborn at first. As expected, the nimble Luc Steins, who was only 1.72 meters tall, skilfully steered the Oranje game.
Wolff witched like in the best of times
But because keeper Wolff had a strong day and Köster and Knorr in particular scored much better than at the beginning, Germany took a deserved 15:12 lead by the break. Unlike in the previous games, coach Alfred Gislason largely played through his first seven in the first half. Only the backcourt right Kai Häfner allowed the Icelander a breather every now and then – also because the Melsunger could not set accents as hoped this time.
Others did. In addition to the outstanding Wolff, who was celebrated by the German fans with “Andy, Andy chants” and had a remarkable rate of more than 40 percent saved balls, Köster, Knorr and Co. continued to play well.
Refreshing joy of playing and dream goals
Thanks to an energetic intermediate spurt right after the break, Germany pulled away by eight goals and led 20:12 – a small preliminary decision. Only in the 39th minute did the Dutch score the first goal in the second half.
The Germans, on the other hand, not only kept up the pace, they also showed how much fun they are currently having in the hall and with the ball in their hands. You can see, for example, in the 49th minute: Philipp Weber scored the goal to 26:17 with a Kempa pass.
And on the other hand, Smits, Baijens and Versteijnen continued to despair with his world-class saves. Gislason let his regular number one play through this time. The second German keeper Joel Birlehm stayed outside.
The German fans celebrated long before the final whistle in the Katowice hall with “Oh, how beautiful” chants. The tournament could last longer than expected for Germany’s handball players.