Germany vs Belarus: It's time to get rid of the mediocre title

The Belarusian men's handball team has never beaten the Germans in its history, and in the upcoming game, they are again considered the underdog. Can the Belarusians improve their head-to-head record?

It's been quite a long time since the German squad has put together all the strongest players, so they can't even reach the top tournaments medals. At the Olympics, the Germans lost to Egypt in the quarterfinals, at the World Cup, they finished only 12th, and at the last continental forum, they settled for 5th place. Currently, Jüri Knorr, Fabian Wiede, Hendrik Pekeler, Franz Semper, Patrick Gretzky, Finn Lemke, Jannik Kohlbacher and Paul Drux are out of the squad for various reasons. Thus, the German national team now features only two handball players who have scored just over 200 goals for the national team - Kai Hefner and Julius Kuhn.

Since the Olympics, Alfred Gislason's charges have played four friendlies, scoring three victories. Last November, the Germans swapped victories with Portugal, and on the eve of the European Championship, they took turns against the Swiss (30:26) and the French (35:34). In the game with the French, Germany did not allow the opponent's half to turn, although, by halftime, they were still losing by a margin of four goals. The Germans' backline played an important role, and Kai Hefner, with eight goals, was the most productive player in the team. The left-back line was also good, with Marcel Schiller scoring five times.

The Belarus national team still can't grow from a mid-table side to a grandee or shoot out in at least one of the top tournaments. Still, the team has a lot of talented players, and it's good to see that nearly all of the strongest have been called up for the 2022 UEFA European Championship. According to the coach, Artem Korolka was slightly injured, but he is ready to play in the continental forum. In addition to Korolko, Uladzislau Kulesh and Andrei Yurynok, and Mikita Vailupau from Meshkov Brest should be noted on the Belarusian squad. Last year at the World Championships, Artem Kulak played well, and so did the youth, Kirill Samoilo, who already has experience of top tournaments. Only goalkeeper Ivan Moroz from Motor Zaporizhzhia was absent due to injury, and following the coach's decision, Boris Pukhovsky, Dmitry Pototsky and Viachaslau Shumak were not included in the form.

It was made worse by the cancellation of friendlies against Hungary and Bahrain, so the Belarusians had their last friendlies in November. Back then, Yuri Shevtsov's charges twice defeated the Russians - 35:27 and 31:27. In the return leg, the score was tied at halftime, and in the 2nd half, the Belarusian team got a decisive advantage. The flanks played an important role, with Mikita Vailupau making the most impact in the team, scoring 12 goals.

At the last World Cup, the Belarusian team proved to play on equal terms with the giants, but they still lacked experience. They could have beaten the Swedes and Slovenes but squandered a solid advantage. Now all the strongest players of the Belarusians are on the pitch, and you have to play your handball. The Germans are missing a lot of experienced players who won't make it to the 2022 European Championship, and we'll have to take good advantage of it. I propose to bet on the following outcomes:

• Handicap 2 (+3.5) for 2.05;
• Total Over 58.5 for 1.80;
• X2 for 3.60.