Despite injury worries, the Swiss national handball team is looking forward to a real treat in its preparations for the European Championship in January. World Championship runners-up Croatia will be the guests in Bern and Kriens.
30.10.2025, 04:31
30.10.2025, 06:47
SDA
The upswing in Swiss handball is also evident in this week's test match opponent. Thanks to the strong World Championship, finishing eleventh in January and qualifying for a European Championship final round for the second time in a row, the team of national coach and former world-class player Andy Schmid is also an attractive opponent for top nations.
On Thursday (19:15) in Gümligen and on Saturday (18:00) in Kriens, they will face World Cup runners-up Croatia. "It's something special that Croatia is coming to Switzerland," emphasizes Schmid. "We're looking forward to two great games, in Bern and Kriens." The new Pilatus Hall in Kriens was only inaugurated last Saturday.
Three newcomers
Schmid nominated a young squad of 18 players. One man's misfortune is another man's good fortune. With a number of regular players out injured, three newcomers have been given the chance to get a taste of the national team. Tiago Cuencas and Niclas Mierzwa from Pfadi Winterthur, who are already part of the U21 national team squad, and David Hrachovec from Kadetten Schaffhausen have been called up for the first time.
Manuel Zehnder (Magdeburg) and Jonas Schelker (Kriens-Luzern) have been missing for some time due to knee injuries. They are joined by Lenny Rubin, who injured his knee in the Bundesliga game in Gummersbach, his Stuttgart team-mate Samuel Röthlisberger, who recently underwent surgery on his thumb, and Mehdi Ben Romdhane (Pfadi Winterthur) after an ankle operation.
Towards the European Championship in Norway
This week's international matches mark the start of preparations for the European Championships in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in January. Switzerland will play in preliminary round group D in Oslo and will face the Faroe Islands on January 16. The other group opponents are Slovenia and Montenegro.
