France is tired of failing at the foot of the podium. Fourth in the World Cup in 2021 and the Euro a year later, the Blues of handball, Olympic champions in Tokyo, display great ambitions in attacking the world championship which takes place from January 11 to 29 in Poland and Sweden. “We are aiming for the title, not a place of honorannounces Guillaume Gille, the coach of the Blues. We have stumbled twice in the semi-finals in two of our last three competitions, our desire is to play a final again and win. »
Les Bleus’ campaign kicks off on January 11 in Katowice, southern Poland, with a high-tension game against the co-host country. A serious test for captain Luka Karabatic’s teammates. No less than 10,000 spectators are expected at the Spodek, a sports hall in the shape of a flying saucer, to support the Whites and Reds. “We know the fervor of the Poles, the warmth of their room and the atmosphere that reigns there. This meeting will force us to be in the right tempo from the outset.”continues the coach.
The Blues have bad memories of Poland. Their last match ended in a defeat (25-31), in Krakow, at Euro 2016. Admittedly, the team coached by Patryk Rombel has hardly shone since (12e of the last Euro and 13e of the last World Cup), but France would be well advised to avoid a faux pas of entry against a team that it will find in March during the qualifications for Euro 2024.
It is also in Katowice that the Blues will play their two other preliminary round matches, against Saudi Arabia on January 14, then against Slovenia two days later. Opponents well within reach: Saudi Arabia have never done better than a 19e place in the World Championship and Slovenia, eliminated in qualifying but drafted by invitation, achieved its best result in 2017 with a bronze medal at the World Cup won at home by France.
France favorite of the tournament
The Blues have kept a bitter memory of the Euro disputed a year ago in Hungary and Slovakia. Between the cascading injuries (Luka Karabatic, Nedim Remili, Timothey N’Guessan, Elohim Prandi…) and the incessant upheavals due to Covid-19, which had notably contaminated Guillaume Gille during the competition, the French team had floated for a long time before to fall to Sweden in the semi-finals and to Denmark for the bronze medal.
This time, the planets seem aligned. If important players are still missing (Timothey N’Guessan, Aymeric Minne, Karl Konan, Hugo Descat and Wesley Pardin), the Blues can count on the back Elohim Prandi – victim of a knife attack during the New Year’s Eve a year ago – and, above all, on their playing master Nedim Remili, voted best center half of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
It would therefore take an earthquake for the Blues not to end up in one of the first three places in their group, synonymous with accession to the main round. They would then make a short trip from Katowice to Krakow, where they would face three teams from Group A. They should logically find an old acquaintance there, Spain, a formidable opponent, very regular at the highest level (winner of the Euro 2020, third in the 2021 World Cup and finalist in Euro 2022).
The following matches against the other two qualified in group A (which includes Montenegro, Chile or Iran) would be less complicated. On one condition: that the Blues do not lose points en route to, arithmetic of international handball competitions requires, finish in one of the first two places in their group in the main round and join the quarter-finals. The French will only go to Sweden if they qualify for the quarters – Stockholm hosts two quarter-finals, a semi-final, the final (January 29) and the classification matches of the 5e at the 8e square.
For many observers, France is the favorite of the tournament. “Five or six teams can win, including Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Croatia and Egypt… but the French will be tough to beatbelieves Talant Dujshebaev, the former Russian center half, who wore the colors of Spain and who now leads the team from Kielce, Poland, with his four international tricolors. France has an exceptional generation of players who all play in the biggest European clubs. They grew up together and know each other by heart. The other teams have no equivalent! »
The calendar of the Blues
Preliminary round:
Poland-France, January 11 at 9 p.m., in Katowice (Poland).
France-Saudi Arabia, January 14 at 6 p.m., in Katowice (Poland).
Slovenia-France, January 16 at 6 p.m., in Katowice (Poland).
Main tower:
From January 18 to 23, in Krakow and Katowice (Poland), Gothenburg and Malmö (Sweden).
Quarter-finals:
On January 25, in Gdansk (Poland) and Stockholm (Sweden).
Semi-finals:
On January 27, in Gdansk (Poland) and Stockholm (Sweden).
Final:
January 29, in Stockholm (Sweden).