Germany have booked the seventh place at every major tournament since 2020. Despite missing the 2020 Olympic Games, they finished seventh at the EHF EURO 2020 and 2022, as well as at the 2021 IHF World Championship – always missing out on the semi-finals. 

The qualification for this year’s IHF Women's World championship was an easy task for head coach Markus Gaugisch’s team. They achieved the highest aggregate win in the European qualification against Greece, winning both matches with 26 and 16 goals, respectively, for a 75:33 aggregate win. On their journey to return to the Olympic stage in 2024, as well as co-hosting the 2025 IHF World Championship with the Netherlands, the upcoming World Championship at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 will be a good opportunity to finally break the curse. 

This task won’t be easy, however, everything is on the table, if Germany proceed to the main round facing strong opponents, such as co-hosts and EHF EURO 2022 runners-up Denmark. If Serbia also succeed in booking a spot for the main round, Germany will meet them again, a team which has prevented them from reaching the semi-final at the 2019 IHF World Championship, as they were just one goal apart from it.

The 2023 IHF World Championship will be Markus Gaugisch’s second major tournament after last year’s EHF EURO 2022. Gaugisch has been coaching the German Bundesliga club SG BBM Bietigheim from 2020 to 2023, leading them to two German Championships, three German Cup titles as well as winning the 2022 EHF European League. In the last season, he was responsible not only for the German club but also for the German national team. Since this summer his only focus relies on the national team and the further development of the women’s side from younger age players up to the women’s national team. 

Gaugisch will lead an experienced but still young team to the World Championship. However, he will have to do it without goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle. She decided not to be a part of this year’s tournament after giving birth to her daughter in March. This gap will be filled once again by goalkeeper Katharina Filter. One player who might return is right back Alicia Stolle. She missed the EHF EURO 2022 due to a broken hand. Stolle rejoined the German Bundesliga this summer, moving from Hungarian club FTC back to Borussia Dortmund. 

While Stolle decided to return to Germany, other players made the move to play abroad, such as Alina Grijseels joining the French club Metz or Julia Maidhof moving to Romanian club SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea. Grijseels is crucial for the German team. She has not only been the top scorer for Germany at the last two major events but is also one of the two team captains, alongside Emily Bölk. 

Bölk has been part of all younger age national teams and made her debut on the women’s national team in 2016 at the age of 18. She is not only a leader for the German national team but also a great shooter for the Hungarian club FTC, where she reached the 2023 EHF Champions League final being responsible for the decisive goal in the semi-final against Esbjerg. 

On their road to Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, the German squad will gather in October for the EHF EURO 2024 qualification and at the beginning of November for a friendly match against Hungary. Shortly after, they will meet on 20 November and play two friendly matches against co-hosts Sweden before they enter the preliminary round in Herning, Denmark. 

They will open their campaign against the 2022 Asian Championship runners-up Japan, followed by a match against another Asian team from Iran, all setting up for the final clash against Poland. They met before at the preliminary round of the EHF EURO 2022, where Germany could decide a tight match with a two-goal lead. 

Key players: Alina Grijseels (centre back), Emily Bölk (left back), Katharina Filter (goalkeeper)

Qualification for DEN/NOR/SWE 2023: European qualification Phase 2 – Winners versus Greece (75:33 on aggregate)

History in tournament: 1957: 4th**, 1962: 8th**, 1965: 3rd**, 1971: 5th**/1st*, 1973: 11th**/9th*, 1975: 1st*, 1978: 8th**/1st*, 1982: 9th**/4th*, 1986: 7th**/4th*, 1990: 4th**/3rd*, 1993: 1st, 1995: 5th, 1997: 3rd, 1999: 7th, 2003: 12th, 2005: 6th, 2007: 3rd, 2009: 7th, 2011: 17th, 2013: 7th, 2015: 13th, 2017: 12th, 2019: 8th, 2021: 7th 

*East Germany **West Germany

Group at DEN/NOR/SWE 2023: Group F (Germany, Poland, Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran)