Last hope for brave DHB men
It’s probably two games to go before the European Championship is over for the German team. Under the given circumstances, no more is possible at the European Championship. It is a credit to the players and the coach that they are not blaming anything on the external circumstances and are still talking about maybe making it to the semi-finals.
The prospects have shrunk to a minimum after the two defeats against Spain and Norway. The prerequisite for advancing is a win on Sunday against Sweden, preferably even with a difference of several goals. In addition, one has to keep one’s fingers crossed for the Spaniards that they win against Norway directly afterwards.
If that happens, there will be a showdown on the last matchday in which four teams from this group will probably fight for second place. The Spanish are at the top of the table. Sweden and Norway are currently on four points. Germany and Russia have two points and the Poles are already without points. Before the match between Germany and Sweden, one may still make a prediction on the advancement of the German men’s team
The Swedes, however, have presented themselves better than Alfred Gislason’s team at this European Championship. Apart from the defeat against the reigning European champions Spain, everything is going according to plan for the Scandinavians.
Germany – Statistics & current form
Even in their best line-up, it would have been difficult to grab one of the first two places in the main round and move into the semi-finals. After twelve positive tests for the players alone, expectations have to be lowered considerably and yet the German handball men have played their way into the hearts of the fans.
Without training no coordination
Alfred Gislason’s team tries everything against world-class teams, and yet there was not one joint training session in Slovakia in which they could hone their coordination. For example, the German games are sometimes too easy because the running routes have not been rehearsed. Against the top European nations, they are quickly left behind.
This is also the reason why we are ignoring the odds on a German victory in the duel between Germany and Sweden. Sure, some of the players who were nominated later have great individual skills, but especially in handball, a team has to be well-rehearsed in order to function. The last two defeats, each after a great struggle against Spain and Norway, were therefore understandable and excusable.
Nevertheless, the German team still has a chance to reach the semi-finals. Before the Sweden game, they can at least train together, if no further positive test results intervene, and maybe one or the other player will come back if he can test free. There is still a last spark of hope that the German men will rise above themselves on Sunday.
The Germany squad:
Goal: Wolff, Birlehm, Klimpke, Bitter, Rebmann
Back: Köster, Weber, Ernst, Witzke, Heymann, Kühn, M’Bengue, Häfner, Steinert, Drux, Wiede, Schmidt
Left wing: Schiller, Mertens, Dahmke
Right wing: Zerbe, Kastening, Zieker
Circle: Golla, Wienczek, Kohlbacher, Firnhaber
Coach: Gislason
Last matches of Germany:
European Championships Main Round Grp. 2
01/21 2022 – Germany 23 – 28 Norway
01/20 2022 – Germany 23 – 29 Spain
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. D
01/18 2022 – Poland 23 – 30 Germany
01/16 2022 – Germany 34 – 29 Austria
01/14 2022 – Germany 33 – 29 Belarus
Sweden – Statistics & current form
The runners-up in the World Cup have made a somewhat sluggish start to the European Championship. Glen Solberg’s team had to deal with a grateful opponent from Bosnia at the beginning and started the tournament with a victory. However, the subsequent defeat against Spain showed that the Swedes are vulnerable, and they were almost eliminated in their last group match against the Czech Republic, but managed to get through to the main round with a draw.
Sweden picking up speed
Now gradually, the Swedes seem to have found their game, with the Scandinavians also having the supposedly easiest opponents on the record first in the second group stage. They had a clear 29:23 victory against Russia. On Friday, the Swedes then had no trouble in beating the Polish team 28:18.
But now come the two tasks that have to be mastered if they want to reach the semifinals. A win on Sunday against Germany means that they will at least play for fifth place. That is better than they did at the last European Championship and at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Glen Solberg’s team is strong, but certainly vulnerable.
Moreover, the Swedes have also received their positive test results during the tournament. Max Darj, Daniel Pettersson and Niclas Ekberg all had to go into isolation. Whether it will be enough for one of theirs to be back on the board on Sunday is questionable. Nevertheless, the Scandinavians are favoured and between Germany and Sweden the prediction must still go to a Swedish victory.
The squad of Sweden:
Goal: Johannesson, Palicka, Thulin
Back: Gottfridsson, Claar, Carlsbogard, Johansson, Wallinius, Lagergren, Sandell
Left wing: Mellegard, Wanne
Right wing: Ekberg, D. Pettersson
Circle: Darj, Möller, F. Pettersson, Bergendahl
Coach: Solberg
Last games of Sweden:
European Championships Main Round Grp. 2
01/21 2022 – Poland 18 – 28 Sweden
01/20 2022 – Russia 23 – 29 Sweden
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. E
01/17 2022 – Czech Republic 27 – 27 Sweden
01/15 2022 – Spain 32 – 28 Sweden
01/13 2022 – Sweden 30 – 18 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Germany – Sweden Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
No other nation has Germany faced more comparisons in handball than the Swedes. The Scandinavians are one of the few teams with a positive record against the DHB men. In total, there have already been 109 duels. In the direct comparison, the Swedes are ahead with 50:45 victories. 14 duels ended in a draw.
What is exciting is that the two teams recently drew twice, which is rather rare in handball. Overall, however, this means that Germany has not won against the Scandinavians for three games. The last German victory over the Swedes came in the preliminary round of the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Germany – Sweden Tip
The big question is whether the German men will go above and beyond on Sunday and still have a minimal chance of making the semifinals with a win.
The many absences are simply impossible to compensate for. On top of that, it wasn’t even possible to train with the entire squad. On the positive side, however, this European Championship has brought the German men together even more. Nevertheless, the tip between Germany and Sweden has to go in the direction of a Swedish victory
If the Swedes win, they will have got rid of another opponent in the fight for the semifinals. Even though the Scandinavians have three retirements, there is a lot to be said for a win. Maybe the German team will keep up for a long time again, but in the end we have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-4.5) for the Scandinavians between Germany and Sweden.
