French handball players celebrate their victory in the 2023 World Cup final against Norway by dancing, on December 17, 2023, in Herning (Denmark). JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP
Two and a half years after reaching the summits of Olympus in Tokyo, the Blues are back on the roof of the world. The French handball players won, on Sunday December 17, in Herning (Denmark), the third world title in their history, after those of 2003 and 2017. At the end of a close match, they dethroned the Norwegians (31-28) , who were the reigning world champions.
This is the fourteenth medal obtained by the French team in a major international competition. The fifth in gold. This success is all the more significant as it was achieved in the country of handball. Scandinavian solidarity obliges, the 12,000 spectators at the Jyske Bank Boxen supported the troops of coach Thorir Hergeirsson throughout the match. Never mind the strong rivalry between the Danes and Norwegians.
Between French and Norwegian women, the dispute is just as strong. If the Tricolores had already beaten their evening rivals in the main round (24-23) a week ago, and in a friendly match in July (30-18), they remained on three defeats in a row against the Rouges et Bleues in the phase final of a major tournament.
The Scandinavians had deprived the Bleues of gold at the Euro in 2020 (22-20) and during the World Cup in 2021 (29-22). They also eliminated them in the semi-final of the last European Championship (28-20). We had to go back to 2017 to find traces of the last French victory. It was in Germany and it was already a world championship final (23-21).
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“We are very happy, especially for the young players who had not yet experienced this jubilation. For them, it is a wonderful encouragement to discipline, it shows that work pays off, underlined Olivier Krumbholz, the coach of the France team. We didn’t arrive in Scandinavia in good conditions, with players returning from injury, but it was said that nothing could happen to us. Bravo to Léna Grandveau, who saved France in the last minutes, when things were coming back strong. »
Aged 20, the youngest of the Bleues was masterful in the money time. Training center half, she replaced right-back Laura Flippes at short notice, hit in the nose, to finish top scorer of the match on the French side (5/6 shooting). “I gave everything, I’m proud of myself. It’s my first big competition and my first medal, she confided, visibly moved. Our fast ball rises made the difference. I had the solutions in front of me, I just had to not be afraid. The staff did a fantastic job. We were able to implement the strategies that had been prepared. »
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2023-12-18 00:38:54
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