Nerves of steel

In an all-or-nothing final group game against Sweden on Friday, the German handball team kept its nerve to prevail 30:29 after a tense final period. The result takes Germany to the main group stage of the European Championships.

"That didn't do my nerves much good," German trainer Heiner Brand said after the match. But he was overjoyed at achieving the team's minimum target for the tournament. "It's really good that the team has got into the main round and can get some good experience. With our self-confidence we can still annoy some of the big teams. We can only win from here."

Discipline was the key

Playing in front of 8,200 fans in the sold out Olympiahalle in Innsbruck, Austria, the German team showed huge improvement on its two previous matches, a disappointing defeat to Poland (25:27) and a draw with Slovenia (34:34). With greater discipline and fewer mistakes, the team managed a 70 percent strike rate in front of goal in the first period, by the end of which they led 21:18.

But the Swedes could not be shaken off and fought back to briefly equalize in the second period. The Scandinavians were helped by the red card that the referee showed Germany's crucial defender Oliver Roggisch eight minutes from time.

Goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter gave a particularly strong performance, and said after the game, "A huge tension is gone. We're just really happy."

Heinevetter said that if Germany had failed to qualify it would have been "a huge debacle." "But the team showed great fight and deserved to win," he added.

Germany now faces Olympic champions France on Sunday, with matches against the Czech Republic and Spain to follow next week. But with a points deficit of 1:3 to carry through into the next round, their chances of reaching the semi-finals are slim.

bk/dpa/SID
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar