As of: January 17, 2025 10:09 p.m
It was a feat of strength. In the second preliminary round game at the Handball World Cup in Denmark, the German national team struggled for a long time against Switzerland. It was mainly thanks to Andreas Wolff in the German goal that the main round was booked with the 31:29 (15:14) win.
Even before kick-off, there was a collective sigh of relief from all the fans who support the German team: The knee is holding! Director Juri Knorr was slightly injured in the opening game against Poland, and the 24-year-old’s use was questionable until the end. Franz Semper was once again not in the squad; the SC DHfK Leipzig backcourt player continues to suffer from muscular problems.
Early time-out: DHB team with a tired start
But national coach Alfred Gislason at Knorr wasn’t enough for the starting line-up, so Luka Witzke, who had recently been so convincing, replaced the actual mastermind in the German attack. The first goal for the DHB team was scored by one of the well-rehearsed regular seven, Renārs Uščins.
His counterpart on the left was appropriately responsible for the first highlight. Julian Köster scored via Kempa to make it 2:3 in the 5th minute. Otherwise the man from VfL Gummersbach didn’t want to do much, so Marko Grgić came into the game early. This change didn’t work either, so Gislason was forced to take an early break.
“We make one mistake after another in attack!”, the national coach criticized his team and brought the injured Knorr off the bench after just ten minutes. However, the important impulse came from another place. Andi Wolff in the German goal saved the sometimes desolate attack several times with his saves against Leopold and Steenaerts.
-Once again it was Uščins who gave Germany the lead for the first time in the 22nd minute (9:8). But Andi Wolff increasingly emerged as the star of the first half. The man from THW Kiel now had a 50% ball save rate and the German fans in Herning honored the performance with collective chants of “Andi, Andi”.
Spectacular Wolff the German Life insurance
At the end of the first half, Knorr’s injured knee was no longer noticeable. Again and again, his precise shot throws ensured that the team went into the break with a 15:14 lead. The second half also started with these “missiles” from Knorr (15:16), but also with the technical errors in the attack. Switzerland, who by no means played flawlessly, was able to take the lead with 18:17 in the 36th minute and again Gislason drew the green card to reset his team.
“We have to do our job now,” the Icelander tried to encourage his team. One person took it literally – namely Andi Wolff. The German support was immediately there against Zehnder from the seven-meter line and prevented the Swiss from taking another two-goal lead. The field players finally took their goalkeeper’s energy as an example. A quick 4-0 run put the DHB team ahead by two goals for the first time (24:22).
Köster with three important goals in a row
In this phase it was Julian Köster who relieved Uščins in attack and won important duels. The Gummersbacher, who had previously played almost exclusively in defense, scored three important goals in a row and put Germany ahead 27:26 (54th). Within a minute, Andy Schmid’s team made two simple mistakes in attack, which Mertens and Kastening immediately punished with a fast counterattack – 30:27 (56th).
Wolff dispelled all doubts with his 20th save against right winger Gian Attenhofer from ThSV Eisenach – the Kiel goalkeeper finished the game with a 42 percent catch rate and was consequently named player of the game.
