Contract completed for the French handball players, who emerged victorious from their three confrontations in the first round of the Euro, which is being played in North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia until November 20. After largely dominating the Macedonians (24-14) and the Romanians (35-21), the Blues hardly bent the Netherlands (26-24), on November 9, in Skopje (Macedonia).
This faultless course allowed the Habs to finish at the top of their group, which gave them three welcome days off to prepare for the first match of the main round, Sunday November 13 (8:30 p.m.), against Montenegro. An adversary who promises to be tough, especially since the Boris-Trajkovski sports center should be acquired by the Red and Yellow, Skopje being only a little over 300 kilometers by road from the Montenegrin border. Les Bleues will have to be wary of veteran Jovanka Radicevic, who has already scored twenty goals since the start of the competition.
With points accumulated in the first round counting towards qualification for the finals in Ljubljana, Slovenia, France will have a foot and a half in the semis if they beat Montenegro, who finished comfortably top of their group with three clear wins . It could then rotate its workforce on November 15 against Germany and against Spain the next day.
Only three countries made it to the top in the first round: Montenegro, Norway and France. In Group B, Denmark, beaten by Slovenia, dominated Sweden. The Montenegrins having dominated the Germans and the Spaniards, their match against France promises to be the top of group 2.
“Best defense in the world”, but irregular attack
It is a conquering French team, sure of its defence, which is tackling this new challenge. “We still have the best defense in the world”, boasted coach Olivier Krumbholz after the match against the Dutch. Of the 16 teams involved in the Euro, France is the only nation to have conceded less than 60 goals in the preliminary round (59).
The centerpiece of this defence, goalkeeper Cléopâtre Darleux had a successful first three high-flying games. Against the Netherlands, she disgusted the opposing attackers, with 45% of shots saved. His fourteen parades tipped the scales on the side of the Blues. In her wake, the young Floriane André (22), for whom this is her first major international competition, has not been unworthy.
“Despite the pressure, the French women did not disunite, they showed mental strength. It is a victory on which we can build for the future.analyzed Thierry Omeyer, the former goalkeeper of the France team, at the microphone of BeIN.
“France played good handball. She was very good in defense, in quick ball runs and in defensive withdrawal, her usual strong points.summarizes the former player Blandine Dancette, withdrawn from the courts after the Olympic title in Tokyo.
The attack, on the other hand, remains irregular. Sparkling against Romania, the French fencers were often defeated by Dutch goalkeeper Ten Holte. “But against Romania, we saw smiles on the faces of the French women, who really let go in attack”continues Blandine Dancette.
Preserve frames
Thanks to Laura Flippes, Pauletta Foppa, Grace Zaadi, and above all to the consistency of their captain, Estelle Nze Minko, who scored twelve times in thirteen attempts, Les Bleues nevertheless posted a satisfactory shooting efficiency rate (64.4% ). Only Norway (68.5%) did better in the preliminary round. If the axis between the leader Grace Zaadi and the pivot Pauletta Foppa remains the strong point of the France team, the wingers showed against Romania that they could get up to speed.
And Orlane Kanor’s return from injury to the left-back position has done the team a lot of good: she is one of the rare Tricolores, with Océane Sercien-Ugolin and Audrey Dembélé, to be able to score at 9 meters. A profile that forces opposing defenders to climb on it, which frees up spaces for its partners.
One of the challenges for Olivier Krumbholz is to manage to preserve his executives in the perspective of the final phase. Since the start of the tournament, the coach has rotated his squad a lot, which allows him the depth of his bench, one of the richest among the 16 teams participating in the Euro. This coaching promises to be all the more decisive for the rest of the competition as, the rules having changed, he can now pick 16 players from a list of 20 names for each match sheet.
In addition to goalkeeper Floriane André, the newcomers to the France team have given satisfaction, like Déborah Lassource (23) at right back and Audrey Dembélé (21) at left back. Will they be able to raise their level of play in cleaver matches? The answer to this question will depend a large part of the future of Les Bleues in this competition.