Valentini, Foppa, Mairot… The five French handball players to follow during the Women’s Euro

Estelle Nze Minko (center half, 33 years old, 200 caps, 491 goals)

The captain is the most capped of the Blues, she celebrated her 200th selection last Sunday in a friendly against Angola (3 out of 4 on shots). With Grace Zaadi and Laura Flippes, she is one of the three most successful players in history with four gold medals: (2021 Olympics, 2017 and 2023 World Cups, Euro 2018). Last June, she completed her collection with, finally, the Champions League with her club Györ, the Hungarian ogre where she became an essential piece, even more so with the retirement of Norwegian star Stine Oftedal, who left for Olympic gold last summer (against France). Off the field, his humanity, his interpersonal skills, his sense of collectiveness are unanimous. With the ball in hand, she is an artist with diabolical support which allows her to put the defenders in the wind in less than two with dazzling one-on-ones on the left back. She is also an outstanding playmaker if necessary, even if in this Euro, the Horacek-Zaadi duo should take charge of the center half. In defense, Nze Minko alternates between position 2 and up front when the 1-5 (tiered) is deployed.