This will not be the case for the staff or the players who will have to understand the why and the how. But ordinary mortals will quickly forget the end of the French team’s European Championship which ended in disaster. Beaten by Denmark in the semi-final on Friday after a messy and failed match (24-22), the Blue fell again. Sébastien Gardillou’s team lost the small final with the bronze medal at stake against Hungary (25-24). “We lacked efficiency but we lacked heart. It didn’t amount to anything even if I can’t tell you what it came down to,” complains Sébastien Gardillou at the microphone of BeIN SPORT
After a month of work, a tournament almost mastered until the crash against the Danes, the French returned empty-handed from the journey which took them to Vienna. As in 2022 in Slovenia, France finished fourth in a Euro. Two years ago, Olivier Krumbholz’s girls lost the small final against Montenegro (27-25 AD) and they experienced it like a nightmare. Two years later, the configuration is the same, the disappointment just as great. All for that.
Fourth is obviously an unworthy rank for a team which, almost a year ago to the day, dominated the world by masterfully winning the planetary title. Whose fault is it? Like two days earlier against the Danes, a nasty lack of shooting efficiency. Faced with the Hungarians, whom they had dominated during the week in the group match (30-27), the French did not manage to force the lock.
They had not eliminated the doubt of the semi-final
The French team did not have a great match against the Magyars. The Blues were messy, clumsy, borrowed. At the break, it was Hungary who led the score (13-12) to give the Blues a cold sweat. As against Denmark, the Olympic vice-champions (too much) made the Hungarian goalkeeper shine. They missed what makes them strong: a game full of speed and the madness that panics their opponents. “What is sad,” continues Estelle Nze Minko on BEIN SPORT, “is that it shows that our last two matches are the worst even though they were the most important. We arrived in the last four with the feeling of being ready even though we probably weren’t ready enough. I am disappointed for us, for the staff who invested in the project for their first experience,” concludes the captain, who is giving herself time to think about whether she is continuing the adventure in Blue.
The Danes have created doubts that the French have not completely eliminated. Liberation dawned in the last quarter of an hour but it did not come. Hungary, more energetic and impactful, continued to lead the score. Except for a few seconds when the Blue took a short advantage (22-21, 51st). But they did not know how to take advantage of this to fly away or take shelter. On the contrary, the Hungarians regained the advantage. After losing the ball on a final strong pass, the Hungarians won 25-24.
The Blues still return to the locker room with their heads lowered and their eyes sad. Like Friday except this time, they don’t have the opportunity to catch up.