The French handball players, Olympic champions four months ago in Tokyo, won their third match of the first round of this world, Tuesday, December 7, in Granollers (Spain), by winning against Montenegro 24 to 19.
After mastering Angola (30-20) and outclassing Slovenia (29-18), Coralie Lassource’s teammates had their first complicated moments in this world. Abused for much of the meeting, the French finally found the strength to beat the players of Bojana Popovic.
With these three successes, France climbs to the main round with the maximum number of points, four, just like Russia, which it will face in the last match of the main round, next Monday. Before that, the Blue will play against Poland on Thursday, then face Serbia on Saturday.
The matches of the French against the Montenegrins are rarely fun, as evidenced by the difficult victory in the first round of Euro 2020 in Herning (24-23). The duel proposed Tuesday evening was no exception to the rule, despite the absences of major players on the Montenegrin side (in particular Djurdjina Jaukovic).
And there was a bit of tension, which went up a notch at the end of the period, when Tatjana Brnovic received a red card and four minutes of temporary exclusion. A decision not understood by the spectators of Granollers.
French defense has “closed shop”
The two teams then returned to the locker room tied (12-12), before the French took advantage of their numerical superiority to give themselves some air thanks to Estelle Nze Minko and Grâce Zaadi at the start of the second period.
The French defense then “Closed shop”, as they chanted in Creole at the Olympic Games in the form of a battle cry, for a few minutes to escape the score (16-12). But the Montenegrins, supported by the Spanish public, hooked the Blue and pushed them to their limits.
The salute came from the young Lucie Granier on the right wing. At 22 and for her first international competition, she scored two precious goals which allowed the French to regain the margin (21-17) and to have the last five minutes a little less stressful. The captain of the Bleues, Coralie Lassource, ended the meeting with six goals on the clock, the last of which was on a superb roucoulette to give the team five goals (23-18).
The backs have so far not found a solution to their low efficiency on shots from a distance (9 meters), a recurring problem already highlighted by the coach of the Blue, Olivier Krumbholz, during the first two games of this World Cup.
During the sixty minutes of the meeting, the French women very rarely found the frame, the backs Océane Sercien Ugolin and Kalidiatou Niakaté still not managing to settle the sights. A concern that will have to be quickly resolved in the main round.