The ‘Hispanos’ seek the first step towards the semifinals
Spain faces Germany in a strong start to the final phase of the European
MADRID, 19 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s handball team will face Germany this Thursday (18:00/Teledeporte) in a direct duel to get closer to the semifinals of the 2022 European Championship, a clash between two well-placed teams at the start of the ‘Main Round’ in Group II.
The ‘Hispanics’ left behind the first phase of the continental event organized by Hungary and Slovakia with a full of triumphs and good feelings. The Czech Republic, Sweden and Bosnia fell at the hands of the current double European champion, a Spain that is now beginning the road to the crossings.
Germany, Russia, with two points like the Spaniards and in less than 24 hours, Norway and Poland will be the rivals of Jordi Ribera’s men in search of one of the two tickets to the ‘semis’, to extend a continuous decade of success at continental level. It’s time to make a good profit by reaching this round with those two points.
In the victory against Sweden, the biggest obstacle so far, there was that ace for Ribera’s team, while the Germans played it against Poland on the last day. Now, both teams face each other as they have been doing lately in every important event, with better results for Spain.
Against Germany, Spain began its recent path to what would be the Olympic bronze in Tokyo 2020 with victory and Ribera’s men also won last year in the World Cup, another ‘Hispanic’ bronze. In the European past, Germany was also a Spanish victim, while in the 2019 World Cup it is the most recent Bavarian triumph.
After some relaxation against Bosnia, with nothing at stake but adding a historic 15th victory in a row in a European Championship, Ribera’s men have to give their all again as each victory brings them closer to the semi-finals in these two games of rivals with points. The defense has accompanied the ‘Hispanics’ and against Sweden, a great hit, seeing a well coupled team despite its renewal.
In Germany the accounts are the same, after beating Belarus, Austria and Poland, and they are a powerful team that does not stop renewing itself, something by force too. And it is that the coronavirus has punished them with several cases, even forcing Alfred Gíslason to bring in new players in the run-up to this vital match.
The debutantes also work in Germany and, against Poland, Köster and Steinert shined. Ribera highlighted in the previous game the difficulty in generating a game that involves measuring up to the Germans and, in addition, pointed out the misfortune of having this game and the one against Russia less than 24 hours later. Two games without rest in which the current double champion is playing to be in the semifinals.
DATASHEET:
–EQUIPMENT:
ALEMANIA: Bitter (p), Rebmann (p), Golla, Wiencek, Wiede, Heymann, Zerbe, Köster, M’Bengue, Weber, Firnhaber, Dahmke, Ernst, Steinert, Drux, Ziecker.
SPAIN: Pérez de Vargas (P), Corrales (P), Hernández (P), Gurbindo, Peciña, Maqueda, Fernández, Solé, Figueras, Cañellas, Casado, García, Gómez, Ariño, Guardiola, Tarrafeta, Sánchez-Migallón, Márquez and Odriozola.
–PABELLON: Ondrej Nepela Arena de Bratislava.
–TIME: 6:00 p.m./Telesport.