Germany (GER)

Germany will start their 14th participation at a Men’s EHF EURO with a fairly new team.

After missing the semi-finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, team captain Uwe Gensheimer and right back Steffen Weinhold quit playing for the national team, EHF EURO 2020 best defender Hendrik Pekeler has announced a break, and goalkeeper Johannes Bitter is only on stand-by for “cases of emergency”.

Definitely, some new names will be on-court in Bratislava, where Alfred Gislason will have his first EHF EURO as German national team coach. The Icelander took over from Christian Prokop right after the EHF EURO 2020, when Germany had finished fifth.

The 24-year-old Flensburg line player Johannes Golla is the new team captain, and in the test matches against Portugal in November seven debutants were in the German squad. Some experienced stars, such as goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, line player Patrick Wiencek and EHF EURO 2016 champion Fabian Wiede are still in the roster, but one main focus is to build up a team for the EHF EURO 2024 on home ground.

In qualification for the EHF EURO 2022, Germany extended their impressive series to 20 straight victories in EHF EURO qualifiers, leaving Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina and Estonia behind.

In 2004, Germany became the first nation to win the full set of silverware at Men’s EHF EURO events, winning bronze in 1998, silver in 202 and gold in 2004 - but then it took until Poland in 2016 to win another medal (gold).

Now it is the turn for the new generation, led by Golla, right wing Timo Kastening or the even younger talents of left back Sebastian Heymann and goalkeeper Till Klimpke – both All-star Team members and bronze medallists at the U18 EHF EURO in 2016 – to take over the responsibility.