German 18-man squad for WC
Written by: Rasmus Boysen
The German national coach, Dagur Sigurdsson, has selected a 18 players ahead of the World Championship in France in January.
Update: The 28-man initial squad is shaved down to 18 players, who in the next weeks prepare for the World Championship. See the squad below.
18-man squad:
Goalkeepers:
Silvio Heinevetter, Füchse Berlin, Germany
Andreas Wolff, THW Kiel, Germany
Left wings:
Uwe Gensheimer, Paris St. Germain HB, France
Rune Dahmke, THW Kiel, Germany
Left backs:
Paul Drux, Füchse Berlin, Germany
Steffen Fäth, Füchse Berlin, Germany
Julius Kühn, VfL Gummersbach, Germany
Finn Lemke, SC Magdeburg, Germany
Playmakers:
Simon Ernst, VfL Gummersbach, Germany
Niclas Pieczkowski, SC DHfK Leipzig, Germany
Philipp Weber, HSG Wetzlar, Germany
Right backs:
Kai Häfner, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Germany
Jens Schöngarth, Frisch Auf Göppingen, Germany
Right wings:
Patrick Groetzki, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Germany
Tobias Reichmann, KS Vive Tauron Kielce, Poland
Line players:
Jannik Kohlbacher, HSG Wetzlar, Germany
Erik Schmidt, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Germany
Patrick Wiencek, THW Kiel, Germany
Reserves:
Carsten Lichtlein, goalkeeper, VfL Gummersbach, Germany
Dario Quenstedt, goalkeeper, SC Magdeburg, Germany
Matthias Musche, left wing, SC Magdeburg, Germany
Daniel Fontaine, playmaker, Frisch Auf Göppingen, Germany
Fabian Böhm, playmaker, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Germany
Holger Glandorf, right back, SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Nicolai Theilinger, right back, HC Erlangen, Germany
Johannes Sellin, right wing, MT Melsungen, Germany
Hendrik Pekeler, line player, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Germany
Evgeni Pevnov, line player, VfL Gummersbach, Germany
Germany is in Group C at the World Championship in France in January with Croatia, Belarus, Hungary, Chile and Saudi Arabia.
The 28-man squad includes European champion Hendrik Pekeler (Rhein-Neckar Löwen) and World Champion Holger Glandorf (SG Flensburg-Handewitt). Line player Pekeler has asked for a break in the national team, the 33-year-old left-hander Glandorf retired in 2014:
"Pekeler and Glandorf are scheduled as a reserve for the emergency, both of whom have declared themselves ready. This shows character," says Sigurdsson.
For the start of the World Cup preparation the Icelander will reduce the squad by eight more to 18 players.
"We'll have a few more days left. We want to make the most of fresh impressions and react to current situations. Unfortunately, yesterday's evening has shown how necessary this is and how fast the situation can change," says Sigurdsson with a view to left-hander Steffen Weinhold.
In the game of the THW Kiel against SC Magdeburg the 30-year-old got seriously injured and is not available for the World Championship. Kai Häfner (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf) as well as Jens Schöngarth (Frisch Auf! Göppingen) and potential debutant Nicolai Theilinger (HC Erlangen) are therefore eligible for the right back position.
Besides Hendrik Pekeler and Steffen Weinhold, also Christian Dissinger and Fabian Wiede is out of the World Championship. See the injury list of the competition here.
