beaten to the wire by Hungary, the Blues fail at the foot of the podium

The wheel turns quickly in women’s handball. In December 2023, the French handball players won their third world title in Scandinavia and seemed to establish their domination on the handball planet. A year later, the Olympic vice-champions fell back into line, unable to win a single match in the final phase of the Euro, despite seven initial successes in this competition.

After failing on Friday in the semi-final against Denmark (22-24), the French missed the bronze (24-25) on Sunday, December 15, against Hungary. An opponent they had beaten (27-30) five days earlier in the main round. For the Tricolores, history cruelly repeats itself. Two years earlier, Montenegro, whom they had defeated in the group, deprived them of the podium during Euro 2022 in Slovenia.

If the wheel turns quickly for some, this is not the case for Norwegian women. In the evening, the Olympic champions made short work of the Danes (31-23) in the final. Norway, the big favorite of the competition, thus won its tenth European title, the third in a row.

Unstable in attack

For the Tricolores, this match for third place smacked of a trap. The border with Hungary being only 300 kilometers from Vienna, many Hungarian supporters made the trip to Austria. Equipped with drums and trumpets, they noisily filled the Wiener Stadthalle and transformed the 6,500-seat venue into a pressure cooker. A supercharged atmosphere which carried the Magyar team throughout the meeting.

As in their previous match, the Tricolores were solid in defense, but inconsistent in attack. Confusing speed with haste, they wasted a lot of ammunition in the first period and only owed it to the exploits of their goalkeeper Laura Glauser to stay in contact at the break (12-13).

The second period was better, and the Blues, with courage, managed to get past their opponents at the start of the “money-time” (22-21 in the 51st^e minute). In an unbreathable atmosphere, Hungarian goalkeeper Zsofi Szemerey put an end to the French hopes. The player from Metz, who displays the best efficiency rate of the tournament (38.6% saves), allows the Magyars to win their first medal in twelve years.

“We lacked the energy to get third place, Captain Estelle Nze Minko reacted quickly. I’m sad for the team and the staff. We fought, we put our heart into it, but it wasn’t enough. Our lack of efficiency in attack weighed us down. There are good things to remember, even if the ending is bitter. We will bounce back after this defeat. »

Sébastien Gardillou, the coach of the Bleues, did not hide his disappointment, either. “I was keen to succeed in this competition and bring home a medal, he declared. I didn’t succeed, but there were more positives than negatives in this competition. For me, this is not an epilogue, it is a beginning. I really enjoy managing this team. We’ll get back to work soon! »

Priority projects

There will be no shortage of construction sites in the coming months. Historically, the French team has built its success on iron defense and rapid counter-attacks. In this chess game that modern handball has become, this strategy no longer surprises the best teams. An observation which will force the Blues to review their copy.

“For a long time, our aggressive defense masked our offensive deficiencies, but that is no longer the case. Our attacking game is not complete enough,” estimates Nodjialem Myaro, the president of the Women’s Handball League. Better and better prepared physically, the French opponents no longer “crack” physically at the end of the match.

For this reason, Sébastien Gardillou, then assistant to Olivier Krumbholz, had developed sophisticated combinations in placed attack in 2023 which brought the team to the World title. A year later, with the advent of video, these combinations were dispelled.

To destabilize opposing defenses, “we need shooters capable of scoring from afar”, continues M^me Myaro. During the Euro, Orlane Kanor and Tamara Horacek, the two most successful French women in this area, failed. For now, “France does not have a great full-back like the Norwegian Henny Reistad, capable of scoring around ten goals per match from afar », observes former international goalkeeper Valérie Nicolas. An observation shared by the French staff.

“It comes down to details”

Does this failure herald the end of a cycle? With the exception of Tamara Horacek, below her usual standards, the team’s executives were there. The pivot Pauletta Foppa was selected in the typical Euro team. The thirty-somethings Grace Zaadi, Estelle Nze Minko and Laura Flippes succeeded in their tournament. On the other hand, the substitutes did not weigh on the final phase. Considered a future leader of the Bleues, Léna Grandveau (21 years old) has not repeated her exploits from the 2023 world championships.

The backbone of the team should therefore be preserved. For Jérôme Fernandez, with the exception of Norway, which is clearly superior, “the gap is tiny between France, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary, he insists. It comes down to details, a tactical move that can turn a match around. »

On this level, the French staff seems capable of competing with the Scandinavians. It is up to him to develop new strategies. Among the avenues to explore, the layered defense (2-4), with two players detached in front of the defensive line to harass the opposing ball carrier, almost tilted the match against Denmark. Another system to explore, taking out the goalkeeper to play with two pivots, as the Norwegians do, can be a solution in the event of offensive sterility.

After the defeat against Denmark, Sébastien Gardillou gave indications on his areas of work for the coming months. Suggesting that some incumbents in their thirties could take a maternity break in 2025, he announced that he could “incorporate certain players from the junior collective into the rotations from March-April”. New faces could therefore appear in the French team in the run-up to the Los Angeles Games in 2028, a priority objective of the federation.