Germany Advances to Handball World Cup Main Round with Narrow Win

Germany's handball team secured a spot in the main round of the Handball World Cup with a hard-fought 31-29 win over Switzerland, thanks in part to a strong performance from goalkeeper Andreas Wolff.

Germany's handball team secured an early berth in the main round of the Handball World Cup, thanks to a hard-fought 31-29 victory over Switzerland in their second preliminary round match. This win, achieved on Friday evening at the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark, guaranteed Germany's progress to the next stage before their final preliminary match against the Czech Republic on Sunday.

Julian Köster was the standout performer for Germany, scoring a team-high seven goals to help his side edge past Switzerland. The win marked Germany's second consecutive victory in the tournament, following their initial triumph over Poland. As a result, Germany now tops Group A with a perfect 4:0 points record, ahead of the Czech Republic (2:2), Poland, and Switzerland, who are tied with 1:3 points each.

With their spot in the main round secured, Germany will continue to play in Herning from Tuesday, where they will face Olympic and reigning world champions Denmark, as well as Italy. The top three teams from each group advance to the main round, and Germany's remaining matches will determine their seeding and the number of points they carry into the next phase.

Germany's match against Switzerland proved to be a challenging encounter, with the Swiss team putting up a strong fight despite missing injured playmaker Manuel Zehnder. Olympic hero Renars Uscins scored his fourth goal in the 22nd minute to give Germany their first lead, but the team struggled to maintain their form throughout the match. In fact, Germany's performance was far from the level they displayed during the Olympics, and they often relied on goalkeeper Andreas Wolff to bail them out after defensive mistakes.

As the match progressed, Switzerland grew more courageous, while Germany appeared increasingly nervous. However, the Swiss ultimately paid the price for missed opportunities, as Germany's greater experience in decisive scenarios proved to be the difference-maker. Despite securing the win, Germany will need to significantly improve their performance if they hope to challenge Denmark next week.

In other notable matches from the night, Portugal defeated Brazil 30-26, while Norway secured their spot in the main round with a 33-17 win over the USA. Croatia dominated Argentina 33-18, and Poland and the Czech Republic played to a 19-19 draw.