At the end of a beautifully mastered semi-final, the Blues took their revenge on the Scandinavian team (31-26) and will challenge Denmark for the title on Sunday.
There will be no three pass for Sweden. After eliminating France in the semi-finals of the last World Cup, then the Euro, the Scandinavian team, despite the advantage of playing at home, in front of the 20,000 spectators at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, was outclassed. In all compartments of the game (31-26). A show of force, which promises a formidable showdown with the double Danish title holders on Sunday in the final.
Often, since the start of the competition, the Blues tended to stammer their handball in the first period. And when this was not the case, they made the mistake of not holding out until it was time to return to the locker room. So much slag disappeared this Friday evening, right at the right time. With a Vincent Gérard who wasted no time in making people forget their quarter-final fanny stoppage level, France suffocated Sweden, deprived of their master to play Jim Gottfridsson and in great difficulty to find spaces collectively. Only the power of Johansson’s arm regularly fed the scoreboard on the Scandinavian side, while Andreas Palicka recalled the bad French memory by making several saves allowing the Scandinavian team to hang on for about ten minutes (3-3 , 9th).
But it didn’t last. Under the impetus of a leaping Nedim Remili-Dylan Nahi tandem, the Blues accelerated and took a three-step lead (9-6, 15th). A few severe refereeing penalties disturbed the beautiful French order (11-9, 22nd) but with equal numbers, clearly, Guillaume Gille’s men were moving a step above. So much so that at the break (16-12), the prospect of revenge for the last two international semi-finals lost against Sweden took shape. Especially since as soon as the recovery, Dika Mem and Nedim Remili sent a message with a goal on a sublime kung-fu (17-13, 32nd).
However, in the middle of the second period, the Swedes seemed able to get their heads out of the water by returning to three goals (24-21, 45th). But a few parades from Vincent Gérard here, a few pivotal goals from the duo Ludovic Fabregas-Nicolas Tournat and the Scandinavian team had to abdicate five minutes from the end (29-24). Only Elohim Prandi’s injury, while Nikola Karabatic could not play for a minute, is bad news after this magnificent victory (31-26).