In 2019, 2021 and 2023 Germany missed out on the semi-finals of the IHF Women’s World Championship by just one game each time.

2019 saw the German side defeated by Norway in their final main round group game as the Norwegians made it through at their expense while quarter-finals defeats in the new format against Spain (2021) and Sweden (2023) saw them miss out once more.

It was becoming a problem but on Tuesday (9 December) they finally ended the sequence, defeating Brazil in Dortmund to move through to the last four in Rotterdam for a clash against 2023 title-holders France or bronze medallists Denmark on Friday (12 December).

Playing in all three of those near-misses in the past three competitions were captain Antje Doll (former Antje Lauenroth before marriage) and Emily Vogel (Bolk) and they were two of the key players in the 30:23 defeat of the South American side, Doll scoring six to end as top-scorer and Vogel five.

“Finally, that’s the right word. It’s amazing. I'm so proud of my team. I played now many years in national team, and often we're at this quarter-final stage and lost, and now, finally, we go to the semi-final. I'm really, really happy. Everything is possible,” said the captain to ihf.info, who was heard at an early time out taken by Brazil (8-3, 12th minute), saying; ‘Don't let up one bit’.

 

“It’s a huge sense of relief and liberation. I had a very, very good feeling that we would win it but, in the end, you sit there and know, okay, now you've finally done it. We've been fighting for this for so many years, and now we've finally rewarded ourselves. The way we're doing this makes me very proud and gives me an incredibly good feeling for the semi-final. We have now built up such a high level of self-confidence that we can also win such games by such a large margin.”

Teammate Vogel was interviewed on court following the win and could not hide her emotions, breaking into tears as she was thanking the crowd for her support.

“It's my 11th tournament so far with the national team and we are working hard for this moment that we finally can step up in the final four and having this success, and also in front of home crowd…I am overwhelmed a bit,” she says, with tears in her eyes.

“I mean, already some minutes before the end, I was really hardly fighting with myself not to cry on the court. There’s a lot going on inside, because this is a big, big goal we are trying to reach for years now. Having this success now, and especially at home, this means a lot to everyone.”

That ‘everyone’ sees the experienced Doll and Vogel part of a mixed squad including a number of young players with a mix of little or no world championship experience.

Two of these next generation include Nieke Kuhne and Viola Leuchter, both nominated for the Best Young Player Award Presented by LIDL for under 21 players at the event.

And this mixture has been key for the Germans to finally get into the last four for the first time since 2007.

“We now have a good mix of young players, some who are playing in their first tournament and they are really just trying to enjoy putting the energy on court if they have the opportunity. They don't feel any pressure and they are just going trying to take their chances. This is brave and if it's a bit too much, then the rest of us are taking over and cooling everyone down,” says Vogel.

“This is exactly the mix to success so far, and I hope that we can just keep on going like this, enjoying the handball, and then we will see what's going to happen. They are also really good at following those who have the experience and who are leading pretty well. This combination is fun, first of all. It's just working. We have a great defence, and this is really giving us the confidence, even though we sometimes miss [shots] we always have the feeling we're going to get the ball back because we are working really hard. 

 

“We have a lot of good defensive players, and this really gives us the confidence for everything else. The mix is pretty good, and we can lead with those who have the experience and the flow; it’s just a good combination.”

“We now have many really good players, not only seven,” adds Doll. “Every girl is very important for this team and knows her role and outside the court there's really much fun together. This helps to get to the matches a little bit easier, but the mix between these young players and maybe me (as the more experienced), it's also the right solution, because I'm a little bit more chilled.

“I'm really happy to play a quarter-final, but not in a stressful way. I can help the younger girls to keep calm as I have a lot of international experience. The mix is very, very good, and helps our team so much, we have a lot of fun.”

That fun now has to transfer over to Rotterdam, with the German side leaving home turf after winning all seven of their games in Stuttgart and then Dortmund.

Moving during a tournament means some time away from the court, a time to switch off a little, thanks to a travel and rest day, and for the two experienced players it is a crucial part of preparing for the last four.

“This really important, but not just now, because usually your family and friends are coming to tournaments and supporting us, and then we have some time together on the rest days,” explains Vogel. 

“But what is special this year is the spectators [at home] and that we are really using this atmosphere in a positive way and not falling down under pressure and in this case, I'm also really, really proud of the team, because there’s a lot happening this year – it's a big light on handball.

“We are having this big campaign around the world championship (Hands Up For More) and we want to shine. We want to inspire. So far, we are doing this incredibly good and really showing nice performances that the spectators are enjoying, and, on the other hand, who are pushing us forward. 

“We played the way we played so far in the last seven matches [due in]big part to the spectators. This was fun. These were moments of goosebumps during the anthem, or celebrating with 10,000 people going to the semi-final. This is just what everyone wished for, that this is positive energy and not pressure that puts us down.”

With both Doll and Vogel aware that there will not be anywhere near the 10,000 German fans present in the Netherlands they are laser-focused on their ultimate goal, but will take time out to reset and go again.

 

“Now we go to Rotterdam, there's a trip, and maybe not as many family and friends are there, but we will sit together, talk together, play some games together like ping-pong and darts,” says Doll with a smile, who confirmed Nieke Kuhne and Nina Engels are the best players.

“I'm a bit sad leaving now Dortmund,” says Vogel. “But we really hope that everyone who wants and has time can come over to Rotterdam to support us, because this is huge energy, what they brought from the tribune on court, and together, we really enjoyed these past seven matches, and we're going to take this flow and have this energy with us.

“But I can say finally, finally, we are there, where we always wanted to go,” adds the left back, who plays her club handball for FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria in Hungary.

“From now on, everything coming on top of this is already like gold, but we will still keep on fighting. We're going to put everything into the 60 minutes on Friday, to make the biggest surprise, even though we know that now in this final four it is the greatest teams of the world and we are really proud to be one of them, to be part of this this year.

“There's no need to be afraid or to change anything. We are really playing well. We are enjoying and we want to just continue this way, and then we will see who's going to await us, but we're going to fight and die on court on Friday.”