Perfect or almost so far, the French team begins its main round against the surprise team of the competition, the Netherlands. A trap match par excellence, especially in times of Covid-19.
Distrust and rigor. This is the axiom of the France team before approaching its first match of the main round of the Euro against the Netherlands. Imperial to cross easily the obstacle – however perilous – of a first round with Croatia (27-22) and Serbia on its program (29-25), the Blues approach this second group phase with two points in counter, a nicely inflated confidence but… no guarantee that the sequel will turn out to be so smiley and joyful. The proof, already, with the revelation of Karl Konan’s Covid-19 positive case. At 26, the player from Aix, who was discovering the high international level, was quick to show off his talent in the hard defensive work, admirably compensating for the withdrawal of Luka Karabatic, used to forming a wall with difficulty passable alongside Ludovic Fabregas.
But now, Omicron and a relaxed health context in Szeged (Hungary) are stopping Konan in his ascent and forcing coach Guillaume Gille to review his plans for the umpteenth time. What option will he choose to stem the Dutch waves which should not fail to fall given the backfiring start of the competition from the Batavians? A priori, the coach will have the choice between making post for post without changing anything, with as potential candidate Nicolas Tournat, Dika Mem or Nikola Karabatic. And with the disadvantage, if one of the last two names were retained, of pulling the string of an essential element in attack. Or try to use over the duration of a match the 5-1 with Benoit Kounkoud in an advanced role highlighted twenty years ago by a certain Jackson Richardson. Between the two, the coach will have to decide this Thursday to bring down the Dutch from their cloud.
A formidable Luc Steins-Kay Smits duo
Led by a formidable tandem made up of PSG centre-half Luc Steins and Magdeburg right-back Kay Smits – the competition’s top scorer with 32 goals and his perfect 13 out of 13 at the seven-meter throw -, the Netherlands Bas managed to extricate themselves from a complicated pool, by dominating Hungary at home (31-28), which is never an easy task, before winning an intense showdown against Portugal ( 32-31), all interspersed with a short setback against Iceland (28-29). But even with full confidence and without pressure, since she has already achieved her goal of reaching the main round, the Batavian formation should not be made a mountain. Emerging nation of European handball, the Netherlands are nonetheless very inexperienced in the upper spheres and their attacking enthusiasm is not always enough to hide their defensive weakness, with in particular a pair of goalkeepers who only turn at 25%. stops (30 in all, three less than Vincent Gérard alone).
A less formidable Dutch defense
Shortcomings seen last November during the Golden League in Norway where the Dutch had suffered two severe defeats (40-29 against Norway and 33-19 against Denmark). The sign that they have not become, overnight, ogres of world handball and that the Blues, if they continue to recite their scales as magnificently as during the first act against Serbia, can do them a lot of damage in that sector. Erick Mathé, Guillaume Gille’s assistant, also pointed to another flaw: “The Dutch game is pleasant to see, with continuity, and is animated by Luc Steins who imposes his rhythm and his tempo. There is always the desire to bring the ball to life, especially in large spaces where the players project themselves very quickly with a lot of commitment and rhythm in this sector. We have the impression of a liberated and daring team in what they do. However, many players have almost played 3 hours in the 3 games, so she has few rotations.“It could therefore be that physically, the engine gets stuck at one time or another, especially given the pace that the Oranje put in their matches. Victory will in any case be imperative for the Tokyo Olympic champions before challenging Iceland in particular (Saturday, 6:00 p.m.) and especially Denmark (Wednesday, January 26, 8:30 p.m.), knowing that only the first two of the group will compete in the last four.
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