after their failure against Denmark, the Blues will try to snatch bronze

In handball, crossing paths with Denmark is rarely a breeze. Facing the bronze medal team at the Paris Games, France, Olympic vice-champion, passed a serious test on Friday December 13 in the semi-finals of the Euro.

By winning by 24 goals to 22, the Danes put an end to the invincibility of the Tricolores in this tournament, to the great joy of their supporters, who came in large numbers to support them at the Wiener Stadthalle, in the center of Vienna, in Austria. Three-quarters full, the 6,500-seat enclosure was mostly won over to the cause of the Red and Whites.

With this defeat, France lost more than a match. If the final gap is only two goals, there was a gap on Friday between the two teams. The French handball players had difficulty entering the match and chased the score throughout the game. They never seemed able to turn the tide.

Offensive sterility

An observation which tarnishes a record so far without a false note since the Blue had won their first seven matches. “It’s one of our worst matches of the competition, admitted Captain Estelle Nze Minko, disappointed. It's not enough to be good, you have to be good at the right time. We made mistakes, we missed shots, we failed to develop our game, which is made up of runs and rapid ball build-ups. It's infuriating. »

For the first time in this Euro, the French appeared powerless in attack against Denmark. They scored just three goals in the first eighteen minutes and went more than eight minutes without scoring midway through the second half. Rarely has a French team experienced such sterility.

“Denmark was more realistic. What I remember is our inability to score in wide space,” analyzed Sébastien Gardillou, appointed in September at the head of the Bleues. As the Norwegians did in the final of the Games (defeat of France 21 to 29 in Lille), the Danes had visibly worked on their defensive withdrawals in order to prevent their opponents from scoring on the counterattack, their specialty. Their watchword seemed to be: “no easy goals for the French women”.

While Norway and Denmark, the two most prolific teams in the competition, respectively display a shooting success rate of 67.9% and 66.9%, that of France, only sixth in attack, does not exceed 62, 4%. Less offensive efficiency which does not forgive when the Blue come across a goalkeeper in a state of grace, as was the case on Friday.

Kristensen on a cloud

In the person of Anna Kristensen (1.83 m, 24 years old), named best player of the match, the French came across a bone. “It’s complicated to win matches with a goalkeeper who makes so many saves”summarized Hatadou Sako, the goalkeeper of the Bleues.

Anna Kristensen totaled sixteen saves on thirty-seven shots, at 43% efficiency. Although they did not manage to do as well, the French goalkeepers do not have to be ashamed of their statistics in this tournament (35.4% for Laura Glauser, 37.8% for Hatadou Sako).

Despite this failed match, the results of Les Bleues, whose initial objective was to reach the last four, remain positive. “I'm quite satisfied with what we are able to do, insisted the coach. Throughout the competition, our wingers were good, our backs did what they had to do and we have great pivots. » However, the team struggles to carry the danger from afar, a persistent problem, which makes the task easier for the opposing defenders.

What will be the priority projects for the coming months? “My mission is not only to take this team as high as possible before the next Games, but above all to prepare for the meeting in Los Angeles,” replied Sébastien Gardillou. Some players on the France team could take a break in 2025. “Depending on that, I will make choices and I will decide to integrate young people from the junior collective into the rotations from March-April,” announced the coach.

Hungary to finish

In the meantime, the Blues must re-mobilize for the “small” final, which will pit them against Hungary, already beaten (30-27) in the main round, on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. A victory would allow us to finish on a good note. “It’s important, insists Estelle Nze Minko. We've been working hard for three weeks. We have a great journey. Everyone is invested. We must transform this adventure into something positive. The only way to do that is to get the bronze medal. »

On the same wavelength as his captain, Sébastien Gardilou added: “ Losing a match, I can accept that. This is quite common in a major competition. losing two would hurt me. » A victory would give France the sixteenth medal in its history, the sixth in a European championship. It would also be the first podium achieved without Olivier Krumbholz at the head of the team.