Thibaud Briet, Aymeric Minne and others in verve, Hugo Descat in check, faulty arbitration… Find the Tops and Flops of the editorial staff after France‘s clear success over Ukraine (36-23) at the Euro.
TOPS
Thibaud Briet, the audacity of the (big) premiere
At 22, for only his second career selection, the left-back of just over two meters did not shake. And he knew how to seize his chance, he who took the place of a certain Nikola Karabatic, spared, on the score sheet. Quickly came into play after ten minutes due to a shock to the head of Romain Lagarde, the Nantes player scored from his first ball touched in attack. Before scoring two goals in a first act that he finished with a perfect 3 out of 3 on shots, along with an assist. Very nice work, which shows that he is not there by chance and that in the event of a hard blow, Guillaume Gille can count on him.
Guillaume Gille, welcome turnover
Facing Croatia, the French coach was well aware of having had to pull a little more than usual – for a first match – on the rope of certain executives. He hoped, suddenly, to take advantage of the match against Ukraine to rebalance the counters. Mission perfectly fulfilled with a Nikola Karabatic spared in the stands, a Dika Mem who only played the first quarter of an hour, as well as Kentin Mahé. A mock RTT necessarily welcome in a competition that promises to be long and arduous, all the more so with this health context. And above all, the good news came in particular from Romain Lagarde or Melvyn Richardson who had appeared inside against the Croats and who were able to regain confidence this Saturday.
Such a talented youth
If Thibaud Briet was highlighted, he was not the only youngster to shine against the Ukrainians. At 24, center half Aymeric Minne signed by far his best performance in the jersey of selection A with 4 goals and 4 assists. On the wings, the Dylan Nahi (5 out of 5 shooting)-Benoit Kounkoud (3 out of 4) tandem – 45 years old between them (21 for the first, 24 for the second) – did not miss much against the goal and confirmed that the retirement of Experts Michaël Guigou-Luc Abalo would not prevent France from continuing to soar. Obviously, the weakness of the adversity this Saturday obliges to nuance the analysis, and the Euro should offer them much more difficult tests in the coming days. But in terms of trust, what is taken is no longer to be taken.
FLOPS
Ukraine not at the level
In a qualitatively very dense Euro, Ukraine is, unfortunately for her and fortunately for France, part of the teams clearly below. What his pale performance had shown two days ago against Serbia (23-31), and what was confirmed this Saturday. Especially in defense where, apart from the goalkeeper Gennadiy Komok, who did what he could even being a little abandoned by his own, the Ukrainians leave bounds necessarily punished at this level of competition. It is therefore no surprise that for the sixth time in six confrontations with France, Ukraine left with their heads down, even suffering their heaviest defeat against the Blues (-13).
Confusing referees
If Ukraine were not on the level, they were not helped by a duo of Slovak referees whose decision to send off Dmytro Horiha after five minutes of play in the second half, no one understood. altogether anecdotal fault on Briet. Late, the best Ukrainian player (7 of 8 shooting) deserved a penalty for two minutes, but not a red card. Especially since the pair of whistles took the time to examine the action on video, only to come out with the conviction, which is theirs alone, that Horiha should end up sitting in the stands. The proof that the video will never solve everything, since it remains subject to the (re)reading of men.
Hugo Descat, the unusual mess
As nothing can ever be totally perfect, a Frenchman will ruminate a little on his performance this Saturday evening. Impeccable with his 7 out of 7 in shooting against Croatia, Hugo Descat followed up with two additional successes this Saturday before experiencing a long black hole. Twice, the Montpellier winger stumbled on the uprights alone on the counter-attack. Before experiencing a third consecutive failure to shoot on an attempt on the wing against Komok. In the end, the former Créteil player finished his performance with a 4 out of 8 below his usual standards. Now it was better for him to miss against the weak Ukrainians and this lackluster performance may have piqued his pride for the sequel to turn out to be as snappy as the last Tokyo Olympics.
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