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Preparing for the duel with the newcomer to the World Cup brought some problems.

Because handball games tend to play a subordinate role in South America, the otherwise due television viewing of the opponent's strengths and weaknesses was particularly difficult.

“We are playing against an opponent that we only know from videos that are almost a year old,” reported national coach Alfred Gislason on Thursday from the German national team's headquarters in Giza.

“Uruguay is a team that plays handball a little differently than we are used to.

You have a very robust defense and a good goalkeeper and try to play off the attacks for an extremely long time.

I've only seen the games from the South American Championship.

They play a flexible 6-0 defense that grabs a lot.

We have to organize our game accordingly.

It's up to us how we deal with it. "

Clear specification

Before the eagerly awaited start, the Uruguayan team is like a big surprise bag.

Third place in the 2020 South American Championship is the team's greatest achievement.

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Gislason underlined the fact that only one win counts against the tournament debutants in the first appearance of the German selection at the global test of strength in Egypt this Friday (6 p.m., ARD): the game as well as the second group game on Sunday against Cap Verde (6 p.m., ARD) "We have to win," said the 61-year-old Icelander.

“You can turn it around as you like.

We also have to use these games to improve our skills and develop tactical variants in attack and defense. ”The participation of the second opponent in the tournament is still on the brink due to some corona cases.

National coach Alfred Gislason (front)

Source: Getty Images

The national coach, who replaced Christian Prokop eleven months ago, of course knows all too well that the real opponents at this World Cup will follow later.

After the final group game against Hungary on Tuesday you can only assess where you stand, he said.

He didn't feel particularly nervous before his first major tournament as coach: “I'm always tense before every game.

Above all, I'm happy that it's finally getting started.

That's what we're here for, that's what we all enjoy most, ”said Gislason.

For his newly formed team due to the lack of ten players, it is now important to “just play our game.

That means, first of all, we have to be patient enough in the attack that we don't get angry. "

Bob Hanning also sees the German team clearly as favorites.

"Now we are going to win the game against Uruguay with a cup of tea in hand and concentrate on the sport," said the Vice President of the German Handball Federation.