Will Germany live up to their role as favourites?
On Friday, the German national team will also start the European Handball Championship 2022. It is a bit of a grab bag, as coach Alfred Gislason calls his squad. Therefore, no big goals have been set, but the main round should be reached in any case. A win in the first match against the team from Belarus is almost obligatory against this background.
The German handball players seem to have adopted the proverbial luck of the draw of the footballers. In the preliminary round, the DHB men will face Belarus, Austria and Poland. At least on paper, these should all be manageable tasks. It will only be important not to take any opponent lightly, then 6:0 points would be possible and then they would also go into the main round with ambition.
If everything goes normally, Germany should win the group. The only question is who will advance to the next round in second place. The team from Belarus will certainly expect a lot, because Poland and Austria should be on a par with the Belarusians. But before the opening match between Germany and Belarus, we at least dare to predict that Alfred Gislason’s team will finish first.
The first match of a tournament is very important. The German handball players have to make sure that they start well in this European Championship in order to take a cloud with them and to gain self-confidence in order to take two points with them into the main round at the end. You should already think that far ahead in the preliminary round.
Germany – Statistics & current form
What hasn’t been said in the run-up to the European Championship about the squad with which the German team has travelled to the European Championship. Numerous top-class players have ended or interrupted their international careers. In addition, there are various cancellations of top performers from previous years. Nevertheless, Alfred Gislason seems to have assembled a team that meets international standards.
Surprise victory against the Olympic champions
In the preparation, things were already going very well on the record. The two international matches against Serbia had to be cancelled, but with Switzerland and France two opponents were found at short notice. The victory against the Swiss was predictable, but the fact that the newly formed German team subsequently prevailed against the Olympic champions came as a surprise.
Perhaps this victory against Equipe Tricolore was already an indication of what the German men are capable of in the preliminary round in Bratislava. If Alfred Gislason’s team manages to build on its recent performance against Belarus, then the odds should be on a German success in the duel between Germany and Belarus.
It is all the more bitter when you look at the list of players who will not be available to the German team at the European Championship. Franz Semper, Paul Drux and Finn Lemke are injured. Fabian Wiede and Patrick Groetzki are missing for personal reasons and Juri Knorr is not vaccinated and therefore not allowed to participate in the tournament. Jannik Kohlbacher also has adductor complaints and is in danger of dropping out against Belarus.
The Germany squad:
Goal: Wolff, Birlehm, Klimpke
Back: Köster, Weber, Ernst, Heymann, Kühn, M’Bengue, Häfner, Steinert
Left Wing: Schiller, Mertens
Right wing: Zerbe, Kastening
Circle: Golla, Wienczek, Kohlbacher
Coach: Gislason
Last matches of Germany:
Friendlies
01/09 2022 – Germany 35 – 34 France
01/07 2022 – Germany 30 – 26 Switzerland
11/07 2021 – Germany 30 – 32 Portugal
11/05 2021 – Germany 30 – 28 Portugal
Summer Olympics Final Stage
08/03 2021 – Germany 26 – 31 Egypt
Belarus – Statistics & Current Form
For Belarus coach Yuri Shevtsov, it is always special to play against Germany. He coached in the Bundesliga for 15 years and will meet some old companions again on Friday. He has now been working for the Belarus national team since 2009 and has made this team a permanent guest at World and European Championships.
Strong winning streak
But the Belarusians have not yet achieved much on the big stage. At least they made it to the main round at the last four European Championships. That must be the goal this year as well. A point against Germany would definitely be a bonus point on the way to the next round.
The Belarusians’ last games were a while ago and date back to November, but Yuri Shevtsov seems to have a team that has grown together. In the last seven international matches, there have been seven victories, two of them in the prestigious duels against the big neighbours from Russia. So it’s not hard to predict that Belarus will score on Friday between Germany and Belarus.
Above all, the return of top star Artsem Karalek gives the Belarussians additional hope. The circle player has recovered from an ankle injury and is expected to be in the team for the start of the tournament against Germany. Keeper Ivan Maroz should therefore be the only injury-related absentee in the Belarus team.
The Belarus squad:
Goal: Matskevich, Saldatsenka, Chernikau
Back: Kulak, Nialiauski, Gayduchenko, Kulesh, Samolla, Astrashapkin, Udavenia, Aliokhin
Left wing: Kryvenka, Yurynok
Right wing: Nikanovich, Vailupau
Circle: Zaitsau, Bokhan, Zhyla, Karalek
Coach: Shevtsov
Last matches of Belarus:
European Championships Qualification Grp. 6
05/02 2021 – Belarus 30 – 26 Latvia
04/29 2021 – Italy 31 – 32 Belarus
03/13 2021 – Latvia 27 – 39 Belarus
03/10 2021 – Belarus 37 – 32 Italy
World Championships Main Round Grp. 4
01/24 2021 – Belarus 30 – 26 North Macedonia
Germany – Belarus Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Total of 14 international matches between Germany and Belarus to date. The direct comparison is a clear story for the DHB men, who are 12:1 ahead after victories. The first match ended in a draw. The Belarusians’ only victory dates back to June 1994. Since then, Germany has won twelve games against Belarus.
The last encounter was almost exactly two years ago in the preliminary round of the European Championship 2020, when Germany won clearly 31:23 in Vienna. Already at the break, the DHB men had the victory in the bag with a seven-goal lead and could relax a bit in the second period. Timo Kastening was the best German thrower with six goals.
Germany – Belarus tip
The Belarusians will certainly try to demand everything from the German team. After all, Belarus will be playing with their best players, while the DHB men will be sorely missing some players. Nevertheless, they won against Olympic champions France in their preparation and almost all German players play in the supposedly best league in the world.
However, the Belarusians have grown together as a team in 2021. They have won seven of their last seven international matches. However, Belarus did not play a single match immediately before the European Championship.
We can imagine that the German men will find it difficult to get into the game, but will gradually find their confidence, especially if keeper Andreas Wolff shows some saves early on. On balance, we have decided to play the betting odds on a German handicap win (-3.5) between Germany and Belarus.
