The French team got off to a perfect start to their European Championship this Thursday evening in Szeged in southern Hungary. In a packed room and in a country ignoring indoor gauges, the Blues beat Croatia (27-22). Before facing Ukraine on Saturday (6 p.m.) and Serbia on Monday (8.30 p.m.), Guillaume Gille’s team already has a foot and a few toes in the next round. This Euro is therefore off to a good start and, after all the ups and downs encountered during the preparation, it was not really won in advance. The coach must give a big sigh of relief.
Only, the Blues had the good idea to quickly stifle Croatian ambitions (9-6, 20th). In this very great classic of world handball, since the two nations meet in practically every major competition (17 oppositions out of 20 tournaments since 2006 in a Euro, a World Cup or the Olympics), the Croats wanted revenge. A year ago in Montpellier during the TQO, a victory for France (30-26) had deprived them of the trip to Tokyo, they who were Olympic champions twice in 1996 and 2004. This success was the act founder of the Olympic campaign which led Valentin Porte and his family to Japan with the outcome we know.
But, on the other hand, there was not. For Vincent Gérard, there was also no question from the start: “We spend our lives playing revenge in high-level sport”, was content to remind the goalkeeper of PSG. The French, stronger in all positions, controlled the Balkan players deprived of their Barcelona player Luka Cindric poorly recovered from the Covid.
“The end of the competition is still far away”
But the end of the first period was more delicate and, at the break, nothing was really done (13-11). The Olympic champions therefore had no right to relax in the second period. They didn’t, leaving the gingham team at a reasonable distance. 10 minutes from the final whistle, France had a 4-goal lead (23-19, 50th). Enough to approach the end of the game calmly and impose itself more or less quietly.
Born to a Croatian father and a Serbian mother, Nikola Karabatic, who left the captain’s armband to the incumbent Valentin Porte back after a negative test for Covid, began his quest for a fourth European coronation after 2006, well. 2010 and 2014. If he succeeds, he will further improve his fabulous record. He doesn’t need that to be legendary already, but still.
However, he swears not to think about it: “I don’t think about that at all. The end of the competition is still very far away and I prefer to concentrate on the start. Especially on a Euro where the road is always very difficult and very long to reach the end. “Next meeting for the star and the Blues on Saturday against Ukraine beaten entry by Serbia (31-23).
