After a clear 17:13 advantage at the break, Germany missed too many chances, while Serbia stood bravely in defence and turned the match around, before the roller-coaster game changed its direction several times in crunch time. The 9,130 spectators in Jyske Bank Boxen were a new attendance record of non-Danish match days at any handball tournament.
GROUP A
H2H: 1-2-2
Top scorers: Uroš Kojadinović 6/9, Vukašin Vorkapić 6/7 (both Serbia), Miro Schluroff 6/7, Renārs Uščins 6/12 (both Germany)
Goalkeeper saves: Dejan Milosavljev 12/39 (Serbia), David Späth 7/27, Andreas Wolff 4/14 (both Germany)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Stefan Dodić (Serbia)
- in a home match atmosphere with thousands of fans among the 9,130 spectators in the stands, Germany could only pull ahead late in the first half, when goalkeeper David Späth improved and Serbia made more mistakes in attack
- the Serbs showed a completely different face compared to their defeat against Spain, with more speed, power and energy — and they were backed by outstanding goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev and a physically strong defence
- after the break, Serbia shifted up again, improved their defence and caused many turnovers, which they converted into counter-attack goals — and levelled the result at 22:22 for the first time after 5:5
- when Andreas Wolff replaced David Späth in the German goal and immediately saved a penalty shot by Vanja Ilić, this could have been a boost for his side, but they missed too many chances and were down 21:23 in minute 50
- but the tides turned again when Germany took the lead thanks to a 3:0 run, making their fans in the stands go crazy, before Serbia were ahead again at 26:25 — and finally secured the win
Important shift in momentum
14 years ago, Serbia and Germany had their first EHF EURO duel — and the only one until now — in a sold-out arena in Belgrade, which it ended in a thrilling and spectacular 22:22 draw. On Saturday, the arena in Herning was again full, this time with a clear majority of German fans.
And history repeated with another thriller. Germany started as favourites, while Serbia were with the backs against the wall — but taking into account the full match, there was no difference between the sides. Germany had their advantage in the first half and Serbia were dominant after the break, as Germany’s attack was weaker than before.
The crucial point in the last minutes was when Germany coach Alfred Gislason called for a team timeout right when Juri Knorr scored for 26:26. After a video review, the referees made their decision — no goal, but team timeout in minute 58. His team failed to score and Serbia netted for 27:25 — with Germany's Lukas Zerbe missing a penalty after that.
We don't have quality like them, but today we showed to everyone that we can play like a team and beat anyone in this European championship. We lost the first match against Spain and if we lose against Austria we're out, so we need to be humble and to prepare really well because this will be like a final if we want to go to the main round.
If we don’t reach our optimum level, a defeat like this is the logical consequence. After a good first half, we completely lost our way after the break, made many technical mistakes and missed too many shots. In addition, our defence was not as solid as in recent matches, although that was also due to the quality of the opponent. Credit to the Serbs for the way they played today.
