sure we have the potential to do so – if we have a full focus, avoid mistakes in crucial moments and show that we have learnt from previous tournaments.”

Six years ago, at Denmark 2015, the Dutch-born coach Henk Groener guided the Netherlands to their first World Championship podium after reaching the final. The 61-year-old coach has been leading Germany since 2018. In these three years, the team have experienced a considerable renovation.

Having scored 192 goals in 63 games with her national team, Emily Bölk is Germany’s most dangerous shooter. She was one of the squad’s main scorers at the 2019 World Championship with a 37-goal tally. 25-year-old playmaker Alina Grijseels – who represents BV Borussia 09 Dortmund in the Bundesliga and the DELO EHF Champions League – is another talented athlete to follow at Spain 2021.

At Japan 2019, Team Esbjerg goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle made 103 saves at a 36% rate. At 26 years old, Eckerle is at the peak of her professional career.

“We saw in the qualifiers for the EHF EURO 2022 [on October 7 and 10, Germany beat Greece 36:10 and drew at 24:24 versus Belarus] that there are many tasks we have to work on,” states coach Groener.