Update made: French handball players have regained their standards as Olympic champions and vice-world champions by dominating Germany (33-30) in front of their home crowd and in their Euro on Tuesday in Berlin. The vagueness that appeared during the draw against Switzerland (26-26) two days earlier? Forget. Andreas Wolff may have multiplied in the German cages (16 saves, 36%), but he only delayed the deadline for a moment. “After Switzerland, we were disappointed with what we had produced, disappointed with ourselves. We didn’t panic, we knew we had to do better. We were a little up against the wall tonight and that saw himself”, relishes captain Luka Karabatic. “For morale, this victory does a lot of good.”
Nikola Karabatic (4 goals and 2 assists), seen for barely more than six minutes on the pitch on Sunday, recalled why Guillaume Gille continued to place his trust in him, having been elected man of the match at almost forty years old. And the other left back of the rotation, Elohim Prandi, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain known as “the Bison”, did not mismatch (4 goals) by alternating powerful shots and a coooulette which folded the match (32- 29). If it was not yet a decisive match, it was one of those who counted with two precious points to gain for the main round.
The draw rather spared the Blues who will meet Croatia, Iceland, Austria and Hungary in order. While the heavyweights of European handball are concentrated in the other group: whether it is the Danish world champions, the Swedish title holders or the Norwegians.
In search of a fourth title
So many competitors who will have seen serious competitors in the Blues. Of those who don’t bat an eyelid when they are down 3-0 from the start, or when they concede a 3-0 putting the Germans in front for a long time at the start of the last quarter of an hour (25-25, 48th) . All this in front of nearly 15,000 spectators, almost all of them supporters of the Nationalmannschaft, causing an uproar each time one of their number shook the net or the referee did not rule in their favor. A deluge of decibels to rival the sound of the speakers of neighboring nightlife establishments on the East Side.
“Beyond doing good, this victory is important, in a prestigious match, in the den of the organizing country… everything is done so that we emerge as the victim of this match”, is satisfied the coach Guillaume Gille. “It’s a very great performance from the EDF which was necessary.” Even before the kick-off with Switzerland’s surprise setback against North Macedonia (29-27), the specter of the sinking of Trondheim had dissipated. When the Blues sank in the first round of what was to be the last tournament before the Tokyo Olympics, causing the ousting of former coach Didier Dinart.
In Cologne, which they must return to on Tuesday, the French Olympic champions and vice-world champions will be looking across the Rhine for a fourth European coronation, ten years after the last, at the dawn of an Olympic year with the Olympic Games. of Paris-2024. “When we are the French team and we present ourselves with ambitions, in a year like this, we cannot afford to show what we showed against Switzerland,” recognizes goalkeeper Rémi Desbonnet, author of four saves in the last six minutes. “We saw who we were.”