Germany tested against Algeria, come through in the end

The ZAG Arena in Hanover welcomed over 10,000 fans for the opening game of six matches at the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 in Hanover.

And it was those supporting the host nation who were smiling in the end, Germany eventually breezing to a win after some bumps in the road against Algeria.

The home side scored 25 second half goals to get maximum points from their first game which saw Germany’s Andreas Wolff make his 150th international appearance, Jannik Kohlbacher his 100th and Timo Kastening his 50th.

Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 – Hanover (Germany)
Germany vs Algeria 41:29 (16:13)

So often in handball an upset can be on the cards, and for a brief period at the beginning of the second half Algeria were knocking at the German door.

A number of times they had the opportunity to come within one goal, but thanks to mishandled passes and Andreas Wolff in the German goal, they could not get any closer than two.

That in itself was a success for the African side, considering they were seven down in the first half at 6:13 (17th minute) and 9:16 (26th), but this tournament is about results not performances and Alfred Gislason’s side ran away with it in the last quarter.

The pace of the game was slow going in the opening 30 minutes, Germany failing to find their rhythm, upset by some strong Algerian defence led by their Champions League-winning goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane, who ended with 15 saves.

Just two fast-breaks were recorded in the first 30 minutes as Germany’s attack progressively slowed down to an average of 26 seconds, having been around 16 earlier on and Algeria capitalised on the German downturn, scoring four unanswered strikes in the final five minutes of the first half to go from 9:16 down to 13:16 at the break.

Timo Kastening, Franz Semper, Rune Dahmke, David Spath and Nils Lichtlein had all been rested in the first period by Gislason but the Icelander could not have expected the continued Algerian pressure early on in the second half.

They came out full of energy, bringing the score to within two and having multiple opportunities to bring it within a single strike, but when the impressive Ayyoub Abdi – the beating heart of Algeria – mishandled on the line this was the last reminder Germany needed for what was at stake.

The tension inside the arena from the predominantly home fans had been clear and you could have heard a pin drop, but when Wolff made yet another save, this woke up his team and they powered ahead, going hand-in-hand with the crowd, evidenced impressively by a fast-break from Johannes Golla to make it 23:18 (41st minute), rise the crowd and put the game to bed.

A few minutes later, Algeria called a time out at 19:25 and the game running away from them, but it seemed to be therapy for Germany as the passion and energy became evident, Golla and Gislason exiting the pause in passionate conversation about what was expected on court.

With 10 minutes left, Germany’s lead was double figures (31:21) and everyone supporting the home side could relax. For Algeria, they will look back at those key moments when they could have drawn level but will have to quickly forget this and look ahead to facing Austria on Saturday in what is a must-win game.

Gislason was able to rotate his entire squad with everyone playing their part, particularly Renars Uscins, with 10 goals. Next up for the hosts are Croatia on Saturday.

hummel Player of the Match: Renars Uscins (Germany)