Bitter setback after World Cup hype: DBB women slip up in European Championship qualifying

Germany's women's basketball team have opened their European Championship qualifying campaign with a painful defeat.

In their first game since the heady World Cup on home soil, head coach Olaf Lange's injury-hit side lost 64-70 (33-41) to Hungary and fell short of high expectations.

Fifty-nine days after finishing fourth in Berlin, Leonie Fiebich, Germany's leading scorer with 19 points, and her team-mates made too many mistakes against the World Cup quarter-finalists. They offered too little in attack in front of 2,892 spectators at Hamburg's Inselparkarena. Hungary's solid performance was enough as Germany struggled with their shooting.

After losing their opener against their strongest group opponents on paper, Germany's women travel to Denmark on Saturday, then face Portugal away on Tuesday. The return fixtures in the four-team group take place in February, with the top two securing places at the European Championship. The finals will be held next summer in Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and Sweden (16 to 27 June 2027).

Injuries ruled out stars including sisters Nyara and Satou Sabally and captain Marie Gülich, but seven members of the World Cup squad still laced up their shoes on Wednesday evening, including the entire starting five.

In Hamburg's Wilhelmsburg district, both teams initially went toe to toe with a clear focus on attack. Hungary made the better start. Fiebich gave Germany their first lead (7-6) after exactly three minutes, but wayward finishing and technical errors left them eight points behind (19-27) after the first quarter.

Fiebich and her team-mates battled under the baskets and dived for loose balls. A three-pointer from Frieda Bühner capped a 9-0 run in the space of two minutes and cut the gap to 28-29, but Germany could not turn the game around at that stage. Although some long-range shots went in, their two-point shooting percentage stood at just 40 per cent at half-time, leaving them behind.

After the break, Hungary still did not look overpowering, but even Germany's much-improved defence could not shift the momentum. Too many shots missed at the other end, despite two consecutive three-pointers from Emily Bessoir bringing Germany back to within five points at 60-65.