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Germany loses dramatically against Iceland: 31:29 defeat in the test match!
On November 2nd, 2025, Germany played an exciting handball test match against Iceland in Munich, which ended 29:31.
Germany loses dramatically against Iceland: 31:29 defeat in the test match!
In the first handball friendly match of the new season, the German national team met Iceland on November 2, 2025 at the SAP Garden in Munich. With a crowd of 10,299 fans, the atmosphere was excellent, and national coach Alfred Gislason came up with something special: the coaching team wore special jerseys reminiscent of the 2025 Women's World Cup. Germany got off to a promising start right at the start of the game.
After just 50 seconds, Julian Köster showed his skills and scored the first goal to make it 1-0 for Germany. Supported by a strong save from their goalkeeper David Späth, Germany dominated the action. In this initial phase, there were four U21 world champions on the field, including Späth, Tim Freihöfer, Renars Uscins and Mathis Häseler, which gave the team fresh impetus. Shortly afterwards, Köster increased the score to 2-0, and Freihöfer scored from seven meters to make it 3-1.
Exciting duel with many turning points
The German defense presented the Icelandic attack line around Jonsson, Kristjansson and Magnusson with major challenges. Nevertheless, Iceland's goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson kept his team in the game. After a mixed phase, Elvar Örn Jonsson managed to reduce the score to 5:4, and soon afterwards Iceland even led 6:5 through Odinn Thor Rikhardsson.
A strategic stop by Gislason in the 14th minute brought Germany level, but the Icelanders were unwilling to relinquish the lead. The first half ended with 16:15 for Iceland after Germany reduced the score to 14:16 shortly before the break. The game was exciting until the last minute.
The showdown in the second half
In the second half it was Magnusson who scored the first goal. Germany fought back and equalized to 20:20 in the 38th minute. Gislason brought in fresh players, including Lukas Mertens and Jannik Kohlbacher, who made decisive contributions. Kohlbacher scored twice in a row and kept the chances of a win alive.
In the exciting final phase, Iceland led 29:27 after a controversial seven-meter penalty and was able to maintain this narrow lead until the end. Lukas Zerbe was able to reduce the score to 28:29, but Iceland's Magnusson made it 30:28 with his goal 76 seconds before the end. Grgic managed to catch up, but Iceland managed a narrow 31:29 victory over time.
The next test match for the German team is already around the corner: on January 8th, 2026 they will face Croatia in Zagreb, followed by another game on January 11th, 2026 in Hanover. Handball has a long tradition in Germany and, with almost 90,000 sports clubs and around 28 million members, is one of the most popular sports in the country. The German national team has already won three world championships and will continue to be successful in the coming years, as the history of handball in Germany shows.