Overview
- Austria’s 26:25 win over Serbia meant a draw would have sufficed, but Germany’s victory secured first place and two points carried into the Hauptrunde.
- Renars Uscins led Germany with eight goals, supported by Juri Knorr, Julian Köster and Justus Fischer, while Andreas Wolff and later David Späth delivered crucial saves.
- Under scrutiny after the Serbia loss, coach Alfred Gislason reshuffled his squad by adding Matthes Langhoff and Nils Lichtlein for Rune Dahmke and Franz Semper, easing pressure with the progression.
- Germany now faces Denmark, France and Norway, plus either Portugal or North Macedonia, with all main-round games scheduled in Herning starting Thursday.
- The match was played in Herning’s Jyske Bank Boxen before 9,526 spectators after a pre-game moment of silence for victims of a train disaster in Spain, and it aired on ZDF with streams via ZDF-Mediathek, Joyn and Dyn.