Theoretically, Alfred Gislason would have had a seat on the bench, but the national coach didn’t need it. The Icelander booted up and down, sometimes he clenched his fists, sometimes he lifted both arms in the air with despair. Gislason is one of the most experienced coaches in the handball world, but there are still games in which the 65-year-old shot past the nerve checks.
The World Cup quarter-finals of German handball players against Portugal on Wednesday evening was such a game. Not always high -class, but exciting to the final seconds. At halftime, the Portuguese had led 13: 9, after 60 minutes it was 26:26. In the extension due, the surprise team of this World Cup then demonstrated the better nerves. Martim Costa set the crucial throw at 31:30 NV, the German handball players sank disappointed.
:Football? Basketball? Handball!
Handball is supposed to conquer America-with the big Danes Mikkel Hansen as an ambassador, a ten-day tournament in Las Vegas and his own professional league. But the path appears wide, very far.
The German team had reached the minimum goal for this World Cup, entering the quarter -finals. However, the fact that the semi -finals were played against a team such as that of the Portuguese weighs heavily in the tournament balance. “It’s extremely bitter after such a hard fight,” said Gislason in the ARD. “We had half the foot in the door,” said captain Johannes Golla, “but then we make too many mistakes.”
At first the Portuguese do not even think about letting the favorite come back
Six minutes without a hit, that’s never good in Handball. So far, the German team has not played such a false start in any other World Cup game. After all, because goalkeeper Andreas Wolff parried a few litters, the gap was still limited after ten minutes (1: 5).
Gislason took the first time out early and reacted twice: the middle man Juri Knorr, who had been recovered by an infection, who had missed two main round games sick, took over the direction in the back area. In the defense, Marian Michalczik, nominated, came to the field to process the Portuguese even harder. But driven by the brothers Martim and Francisco Costa, where world handball will certainly still have a lot of fun, the southern Europeans wasted no thought of letting the favorite come back. At halftime, Portugal was still in front.
Now there were several games at this World Cup, into which the German team found it hard to follow a stronger second half. And the attack actually worked better after the break: three attacks, three goals. When the Portuguese circuit runner Luis Frade saw the red card after a facial hit against Renars Uscins (34th minute), the game seemed to be briefly overturned towards the German team.
But the game just didn’t go as desired. Right -wing Lukas Zerbe crashed into his opponent and had to leave the field with pain for a few minutes. And because Uscins had caught a bad day, Gislason changed his best shooter to this tournament and brought Nils Lichtlein. Nevertheless, the lead melted. Golla and Knorr shortened the gap to a goal (16:17), and because Zerbe proved to be a very safe seven meter shooter that evening, the Kieler from the line initially gained the equalization and then the first German leadership (19:18).
The Norwegian referees now intervened more and more clearly into the game. The line of the experienced duo Lars Jørum and Havard Kleven was still kindly described with petty; First the Portuguese outnumbered, then the German team. At the end of the regular season, the Germans missed the decisive goal in the last attack; In the extension, Portugal again met with the last attack.
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