display

The handball world championship starts on Wednesday in Egypt with 32 participants for the first time.

Germany is also there.

The selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) has to do without some established forces at the tournament who had canceled their participation due to the corona pandemic.

National goalkeeper Andreas Wolff will be in Egypt.

Shortly before the start of the tournament, he again critically questioned the corona-related cancellations of some teammates for the World Cup.

Handball national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff is not only known for good performances, but also for clear words

Source: Getty Images / Christof Koepsel

“The German Handball Federation has always said that you accept the decisions, and that's how I handle it.

I never thought about a rejection ", said Wolff in a" Kicker "interview and added:" But when you see that other nations arrive with a full band and have no such cancellations, you could say, a bit sarcastically, that other players are probably better able to organize their short-term absence. "

display

Wolff's former Kiel teammates Hendrik Pekeler, Patrick Wiencek and Steffen Weinhold had decided not to take part in the tournament from January 13th to 31st in Egypt for family reasons.

"I am not a family man, I cannot empathize with that, but family men from other countries also take part," said Wolff.

The 29-year-old keeper of the top Polish club Vive Kielce had already criticized the decisions.

DHB team starts against Uruguay in the World Cup

Patrick Wiencek said at the beginning of December: “Everyone knows how proud I am of each of my internationals.

But I'm not only a national player, I'm also a THW Kiel player and, above all, a family man.

In this constellation and in this still special situation, it just didn't feel right to be four weeks away from home in January. "

Keeper Wolff is looking forward to the world championship.

Despite the lack of experience, the German national team has the potential to cause a surprise, said Wolff.

“But overall it is a shame for us that we cannot compete with the best line-up.

But - and I see it in a similar way to national coach Alfred Gislason - such cancellations always mean the chance for new, young players who are now hot to prove themselves, ”said Wolff.

The DHB team starts on Friday against Uruguay in the World Cup, which - it became known on Sunday evening - will now take place without spectators.

After a conversation between Hassan Moustafa, the President of the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly as well as other high-ranking government representatives of the North African country, the planned spectator concept with a utilization of 20 percent of the hall capacity was finally rejected, even at the insistence of Europe's top nations .

This is where you will find third-party content

In order to interact with or display content from third-party providers, we need your consent.

Activate external content

I consent to content from third parties being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third-party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.