Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
modified to
10:07 p.m., January 03, 2023
Last preparations for the Blues before the big meeting. The French team, which will fly to Poland to compete in the world championships from January 11, is refining its preparation as explained by Ludovic Fabregas, pivot of the Blues, in the program Europe 1 Sports (every evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.).
The Blues, who began their preparation on December 26 at the Maison du handball in Créteil, are preparing to play in the Tournoi de France during which Guillaume Gille’s men will play two friendly matches: the first Wednesday, January 4 against the Netherlands Bas (in Le Mans) and the second Saturday, January 7 against Egypt or the Czech Republic (in Orléans).
“The objective will be to win these two matches. Afterwards, the will will also be to spare certain organizations. It is important to build a crescendo but also to garner collective confidence”, declared Ludovic Fabregas in Europe 1 Sports.
Individualized preparation
And to best ensure this preparation for the Handball World Cup, the staff of the Blues opted for special preparation during the first days of the rally with individualized training. “The first part of the season is very much felt at the level of the organizations. Physically, with the calendars that we have in our respective clubs by playing every three days, that’s why the staff opted for this option. “, justified the tricolor pivot.
A preparation which seems to bear fruit since Ludovic Fabregas is convinced of it: “I think that everyone has recovered their health to tackle the final stretch as well as possible before our first match at the world championships.”
At least one medal
The Blues, who finished in a disappointing fourth place last year at the Handball Euros, have much higher ambitions for these Worlds. “When you wear the jersey of the France team, the objective is to win titles so we will have the ambition to become world champions again”, announced the 26-year-old player in Europe 1 Sports.
But the French team still expects an extremely high level for this competition. “We know that the task promises to be difficult,” warned Ludovic Fabregas. And for good reason, the level has tightened considerably between the different nations in recent years.
The Blues will have a lot to do from the group stages with a very tough group made up of Saudi Arabia, Slovenia and Poland. It is also against the Poles that France will launch its competition on January 11th. An opening match against Poland “with high stakes” since it will be “decisive for the rest of the competition”, concluded Ludovic Fabregas.