Having secured an early main round berth two days earlier, Germany earned their third consecutive win at the tournament, this time against Serbia, and finished top of Group C. They will now move to Dortmund and start the next stage with four points, while the Balkan side will carry over two points to the main round.

GROUP C
Germany vs Serbia 31:20 (17:10)

Serbia’s Jovana Skrobić opened the scoring, but Germany quickly seized the initiative, relying on their solid defence and counterattacks. Nine minutes into the game, they led 6:2, forcing Serbian coach José Ignacio Prades to take a time-out.

But it did not really help, as his team continued to struggle both in attack and defence. The problems made the Serbian players nervous, with Dragana Cvijić receiving two consecutive two-minute suspensions before Skrobić was shown a direct red card. The disciplinary issues did nothing to help the Balkan side get back into the game, and Germany enjoyed a double-digit advantage (16:6) in the 22nd minute.

Antje Döll had a particular impact, scoring seven goals before the break. Serbia improved their game towards the end of the half, as a couple of goals from Cvijić powered them to a 4:1 run. It helped Prades’ team cut the gap, but Germany still felt confident, leading by seven at the interval.

The game became one-sided again after the break, as Germany opened the second half with a 3:0 run. Prades called another time-out, and Katarina Krpež Šlezak scored Serbia’s first goal of the half in the 37th minute. Soon after that, her teammate Jovana Jovović netted twice in quick succession, but the co-hosts still enjoyed a comfortable 21:13 lead.

German coach Markus Gaugisch rested Döll for much of the second half, but the left wing returned to the court to add an eighth goal to her tally in the 47th minute, missing a 7m shot but scoring on the rebound. Twelve of her teammates also put their names on the scoresheet, and the dominant performance helped Germany cruise to an 11-goal victory.

hummel Player of the Match: Antje Döll (Germany)