At the end of a disjointed meeting, the French handball team dominated by five goals (30-25), Thursday December 5, Romania, for its first meeting in the main round of the Euro, which has four. The match, played in the Fonix Arena in Debrecen (6,500 seats), in the east of Hungary, was almost a home match for the Carpathian players, the Romanian border being only half a distance away. hour by road.
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The French success took a long time to take shape: 12 minutes from the final whistle, the two teams were tied (20-20). France can thank its goalkeeper Hatadou Sako, who was once again decisive, with 47% efficiency. If the game was interrupted by numerous mistakes and ball losses, the French wingers Chloé Valentini (6 goals from 6 attempts) and Lucie Granier (5 from 6) performed well. At the end of the match, the return of the youngest Léna Grandveau definitely tipped the scales towards the Blues (4 out of 5).
“We weren’t able to hit the nail on the head in the first half, commented coach Sébastien Gardillou on BeIN Sports. There were too many ball losses. We were enormously sanctioned. (…) We’re going to rest, because we have a very difficult match [vendredi] against Montenegro. »
Satisfactory balance sheet
To win its second European title after that of 2000, France must play a marathon of nine matches in eighteen days. In Debrecen, they will face Montenegro on Friday at 6 p.m., then Sweden, on December 8 (8:30 p.m.), and finally Hungary, on December 10 (6 p.m.). Les Bleues have an interest in not losing points along the way, as only the first two places in each group of six qualify for the semi-finals, which will take place in Vienna, Austria, on December 13.
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Although undefeated, the French team has struggled to gain momentum since the start of the tournament. Thanks to their victories against Poland, Spain and Portugal, the Blue finished at the top of their group in the preliminary round. With only 20 goals conceded on average per match, the French defense, the coach’s priority project, held firm.
On the offensive side, however, the team was laborious. Affected by a virus, captain Estelle Nze Minko did not have her usual performance. The French were harmless from nine meters, a recurring weak point. Against the Spanish “Guerreras”, they came very close to defeat. Here again, it took the brilliant Hatadou Sako to get France out of the Iberian trap.
Busy schedule
Blue’s next opponent, Montenegro won its first three matches of the preliminary round in a tough group (Romania, Czechia, Serbia). The French women will try to take their revenge on a team which deprived them of the bronze medal during Euro 2022. The Montenegrins are led by ex-Brestoise Durdina Jaukovic, the fourth top scorer in the tournament.
Two days later, the French will face an equally tough opponent, Sweden, whom they beat narrowly in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games (31-28 after overtime). Beaten (25-32) by the Hungarians in the preliminary round, the Swedes will not start as favorites, but the team led by aging star Jamina Roberts, 34, remains a dangerous outsider in this competition.
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The Bleues’ last match in the main round, on December 10, will probably be the summit of Group I. France will face Hungary, undefeated for the moment, at home. “Playing the Hungarians in front of their home crowd, led by center half Petra Vamos and goalkeeper Zsofi Szemerey, will be a real test for the France team. There is danger! “, insists former pivot Isabelle Wendling, holder of the record for selections for the French team (338 caps). At the end of October, the French lost in a friendly match against the Magyars (27-30), before taking their revenge two days later (26-22). The beauty in front of 6,500 spectators promises to be spectacular.
