Handball European Championship: Germany loses game for third place, misses direct Olympic qualification

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Final stop Palicka: The Swedish keeper showed an outstanding game

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Marco Wolf / wolf-sportfoto / IMAGO

Six goals behind at the break, in the end they made up a lot of ground, but without success: the German handball players said goodbye to the home European Championship with a defeat. In the game for third place, the DHB selection lost to Sweden 31:34 (12:18). The outstanding player in the Cologne hall was the Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Palicka. The 37-year-old was hard to get past, especially in the first half, and he made 19 saves in total.

It is therefore clear that the DHB selection must secure a place at the Summer Games in Paris through an Olympic qualification tournament in March. With the victory, Sweden qualified directly for the Olympics, as did France and Denmark, who will play in the final for the European Championship title from 5:30 p.m.

The game began with a now familiar image: a spectacular parade by DHB keeper Andreas Wolff, who was honored as one of the best players in the European Championship shortly before kick-off and is on the all-star team for the final round. Germany's playmaker Juri Knorr also made it into this selection. Knorr then had a weak first half with four missed throws in four attempts.

The Swedes had unfortunately lost in extra time in an exciting semi-final against France. But they weren't impressed by that, and in the twelfth minute they pulled away for the first time against the DHB team with a four-goal lead. This was also due to goalkeeper legend Palicka, who was able to save over 60 percent of the balls on his goal at times.

In the 17th minute it became quiet in the Cologne hall and the game had to be interrupted due to a medical emergency in the stands. The team doctors from both teams also rushed over. After a few minutes, the ARD television broadcast showed how the German team doctor gave the thumbs up and gave the all-clear. Shortly afterwards the game continued.

The German team was unrecognizable after the big effort in the semi-final against Denmark, perhaps that had taken too much energy. There was always a lack of ideas and movement in the attack, and Wolff wasn't a factor either and was replaced by David Späth towards the end of the first half. Nothing helped: the score at halftime was 12:18.

The DHB selection didn't give up and temporarily reduced the deficit to just one goal. But the Swedes were strong in one-on-one situations, repeatedly playing with a seventh field player and without a goalkeeper in attack - that was difficult to defend. And then there was Palicka, who again held up brilliantly in the final stages.

A groundbreaking decision could be made in February before the Olympic qualifying tournament. Then the DHB leadership wants to decide on the future of national coach Alfred Gíslason, whose contract expires this year. According to reports, the signs point to a contract extension with the 64-year-old, who has achieved the minimum goal for the European Championship by reaching the semi-finals.

Jan