One more win to reach the quarter-finals

It is a shame that the games of the German women’s handball team at the World Cup in Spain are not shown on linear TV, because the DHB ladies deserved to be able to present their great performances to a larger audience. Maybe the opinion of the TV channels will change when Henk Groener’s team makes the quarter-finals perfect with a possible victory over South Korea.

Up to this point, the German team’s waistcoat is still spotless. In the table of the Main Round Group III, the German team is in second place behind Denmark with 6:0 points, only because of the worse goal difference. However, it is not yet certain that they will make it into the play-offs, because a very tough match awaits them against the South Koreans on Friday.

The Asian champions only reached the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer. This is not a team to be taken lightly. Korea currently have 4:2 points on their account. Since the direct comparison counts in the event of a tie, the Asians could pass the German women with a win.

The DHB women, for their part, could clinch a place in the quarter-finals with a win. On the last matchday against Denmark, it would then only be decided who would advance as first and who as second. But Henk Groener is probably not thinking that far ahead. For now, the focus is on Friday’s match between South Korea and Germany, and we are inclined to bet on a victory for the German women.

South Korea – Statistics & current form

The South Koreans have so far performed as expected at the World Cup in Spain. In the preliminary round, they won against Congo and Tunisia. This meant that the Asian champions were already assured of a place in the main round. Afterwards, however, they suffered a heavy defeat against Denmark with a twelve-goal difference.

South Korea smell the quarter-finals

This defeat was the first damper on their hopes of reaching the play-offs. On the other hand, the Koreans had a good start in the main round, but the Czech Republic was probably the easiest of the remaining opponents. Nevertheless, the clear 32:26 victory came as a surprise. Kim Jin-Yi was the best scorer for the Asians with eight goals.

The main focus of the German defence, however, should be on the only South Korean who is under contract in Europe. Ryu Eun-Hee plays for Györi ETO in Hungary and is the most successful scorer of coach Jang In-Ik’s team so far. The left-hander already has 23 successful goals to her name at the World Cup.

South Korea’s determination to make it to the World Cup was already clear in their preparations, when they faced Russia, Norway and the Netherlands. However, there were three clear defeats and so the Koreans have lost four of the last seven international matches. Therefore, we think that between South Korea and Germany, the odds on the DHB ladies should be the better choice.

The squad of South Korea:
Goal: Oh Sa-Ra, Jeong Jin-hui
Backs: Song Hye-Soo, Oh Ye-Dam, Lee Mi-Gyeong, Jo, Su-Yeon, Kim Jin-Yi, Ryu Eun-Hee, Jeong Hyun-Hui
Left wing: Shin Eun-Joo, Jo Ha-rang
Right Wing: Kin Yun-Ji, Shin Da-Rae, Jung Ji-In
Circle: Lee-Han-Sol, Kim So-Ra
Coach: Jang In-Ik

Germany – Statistics & current form

The German women have been fully convincing so far at the World Championships. The points tally could not be better. The quarter-finals are within reach and if Henk Groener’s team can build on the mostly good performances from the first four games, then a win should be in the cards against the Asian champions on Friday.

Great series of the DHB-Ladies

Germany has won all four matches at the World Cup and not only against cannon fodder. In total, there was only one defeat against the World Cup host Spain in the last twelve international matches. The DHB ladies are in a good mood and therefore the forecast for the match between South Korea and Germany is for a relatively confident victory for the German ladies.

This was also the case on Wednesday in the first main round match against the team from Congo. In the end, the German team won clearly with 29:18. However, the DHB ladies missed numerous free throws and had a lot of 1:1 situations against the African goalkeeper. National coach Henk Groener was correspondingly annoyed after the game.

The whole team will have to be more consistent again against South Korea. At least Henk Groener could afford to rotate the players. Therefore, all players got their time and breaks and should be fresh for this decisive match against the best team in Asia on Friday.

The Germany squad:
Goal: Eckerle, Filter
Back: Grijseels, Petersen, Zschocke, Smits, Bölk, Kalf, Stolle
Left Wing: Lauenroth, Stockschläder
Right wing: Maidhof, Berger
Circle: Schmelzer, Antl, Schulze
Coach: Groener

South Korea – Germany Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

Since 2007, the South Korean and German women’s handball teams have only crossed paths five times. Usually, World Championships and Olympic Games are the only venues where these duels can occur. The direct comparison during this period is in favour of the German women’s handball team, who are 3:1 ahead after victories.

The last encounter took place at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. In the preliminary round, the two teams parted with a 27:27 draw, which gave the Asian women the group victory. Germany finished second and together with third-placed Denmark they entered the main round. This year, the German women will meet these opponents one round later.

South Korea – Germany Tip

South Korea will put everything into this match. It is their last chance to reach the quarter-finals, although they have won three out of four matches at the World Cup. If the Asian champions win, they have a good chance of advancing to the play-offs. There is still hope with a draw. A defeat means certain elimination for South Korea.

Conversely, this means that Germany will advance to the round of the last eight teams with a win. However, this will require a more concentrated performance than last time against Congo.

We even think that they will pull away relatively early and could get through this game with a cushion of three to four goals. In the end, we have therefore decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-3.5) for the German women between South Korea and Germany, who will then be able to celebrate their quarter-final spot.