DHB women need the opening win

Women’s handball has officially been part of the Olympic program since 1976 in Montreal. In the first two editions, the then GDR won two medals. The united Germany’s greatest success was fourth place in Barcelona in 1992. Since then, Olympic history has been anything but a success story for the German women. Markus Gaugisch’s team now want to write one in Paris and our Germany vs South Korea betting tip shows that at least an opening win is on the cards

Olympic Games are a completely different matter to World Championships. The field of participants is not getting any bigger and so we have twelve teams, almost all of them world class. Germany and South Korea will therefore be aiming for one of the top four places in the group stage in order to make it through to the quarter-finals.

However, this is already an ambitious goal, as Group A is a tough one with the three Scandinavian heavyweights from Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The field is completed by the team from Slovenia. Ahead of the match between Germany and South Korea, we would therefore not make any predictions as to whether the German women will make it through to the play-offs

In any case, our tested betting provider Betano trusts Markus Gaugisch’s team to start the Olympic handball tournament with a win. That could perhaps be a flywheel for the upcoming tasks, which will not be any easier. However, the DHB women would do well not to look too far into the future yet, as the reigning Asian champions will certainly demand a lot from the German selection

Germany – statistics & current form

All 14 German women who made the squad will experience their first Olympic Games in Paris. The anticipation is enormous. The fact that this team has not yet gained any experience on this stage does not mean that they do not have great ambitions. Nevertheless, Markus Gaugisch’s team is flirting a little with the role of underdog

In good form in Paris

At last year’s World Championships, however, the German team also made it to the fourth final and ended up in a very good sixth place. They lost to the Netherlands in the match for fifth place, but since then the DHB women have had a real run and have gone from victory to victory in 2024, even if their opponents were not always at the highest level

It’s still a great achievement to have won eleven of the last twelve international matches. The ticket for the European Championship was secured with six victories and all three matches against Paraguay, Montenegro and Slovenia at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Neu-Ulm were also won. This means that the last nine competitive matches have all been successful.

In the immediate run-up to the Summer Games, the German women initially suffered a defeat against Brazil before beating Hungary and then taking revenge on the South Americans. The form is more than passable and therefore we would only play the odds that have something to do with a German victory in the match between Germany and South Korea.

Predicted line-up for Germany:

• Goal: Wachter, Filter
• Back line: Grijseels, Smits, Bölk, Lott, Maidhof, Leuchter
• Left wing: Döll, Stockschläder
• Right wing: Behrend
• Circle: Schmelzer, Antl, Behnke
• Trainer: Gaugisch

South Korea – Statistics & current form

South Korea used the opportunity of the Olympics at home to develop a world-class women’s handball team for the 1988 Games in Seoul. The reward was gold medals in 1988 and four years later in Barcelona. Since then, the South Koreans have almost always been number one in Asia. Most recently, they won the Asian Championship six times in a row

The former glory has faded

In international handball, however, the leading role has once again been left to the European teams. The last time they finished in single figures at the World Championships was in 2009. Swedish coach Henrik Signell’s team has its qualities, but on balance they will only be underdogs in the preliminary round at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles

In the first match between Germany and South Korea, the prediction at our tested betting provider Bet3000 is very clearly in favor of a German success. Nevertheless, the Asians naturally also have the minimum goal of taking one of the top four places in the group stage and making it through to the quarter-finals. In view of the strong competition, however, it will be difficult to actually achieve this goal.

However, the South Koreans should not necessarily be expected to spring a surprise. The Asian side have recently suffered six defeats in a row. In the last ten games, they have only won once, against Greenland in the preliminary round of the 2023 World Cup. These are not the kind of results that will give them confidence going into France, especially as Henrik Signell’s team lost their only two test matches against Spain by five and six goals in the immediate run-up to Paris 2024.

Predicted South Korea line-up:

• Goal: Jin-Hui Shin, Sae-Young Park
• Backcourt: Eun-Been Jo, Bit-Na Woo, Kyung-Min Kang, Jin-Mi Shin, Mi-Seul Han, Da-Young Kim, Eun-Seo Kang, Eun-Hee Ryu
• Left wing: Eun-Joo Shin
• Right wing: Ji-Young Song, Ji-Yeon Jeon
• Circle: Hae-Ri Song, Eun-Hye Kang, Bo-Eun Gim
• Coach: Signell

Germany – South Korea head-to-head comparison / H2H result

When the German women’s handball team meet their opponents from South Korea, it’s always on the big stage. Six duels have been on the program to date. Five of these matches have been at World Championships and one at the Olympic Games. The direct comparison between the two national teams should be a good omen for the DHB women.

After wins, the score is 4:1 in favor of Germany. One match ended in a draw. The Asian team’s only victory came in the preliminary round of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The last encounter was in December 2021 at the World Cup in Spain. In the main round, the German team came out on top with a clear 37:28 victory. Emily Bölk and Alina Grijseels each scored eight times

Germany – South Korea betting tip

In principle, the German women could not be better prepared for their trip to Paris. The whole of 2024 was characterized by numerous successes. It all started with a commanding qualification for the European Championship. Markus Gaugisch’s team then secured their ticket to the Olympic Games without any major problems and their performances in preparation were also very strong.

However, the competition at the Summer Games is enormous, which is why they will be playing small for the time being. The quarter-finals are the minimum target and if the DHB women have maintained their form until Paris, we can’t help but place a bet on a clear German victory between Germany and South Korea in the Bwin app

South Korea used to be a big name in women’s handball and even won Olympic gold twice. There is not much of that glory left. They recently suffered six defeats in a row. The Asians are probably the big underdogs in the German group, which is why we have decided to play the odds on a German handicap win (-6.5 goals) between Germany and Japan