The French handball players qualified for the semi-finals of Euro-2020 by winning 31 to 25 against Sweden on Tuesday night in Herning (Denmark) thanks to the great performance of Estelle Nze Minko, best player of the match with six goals.
To know their opponent in the semi-finals, the Blue will have to wait a little longer: the result of the match between Russia and Denmark in the evening will determine the team they will face on Friday night in Herning, for a place in the final.
If they finish at the top of their group (victory or draw for Denmark), they will be opposed to Croatia.
On the other hand, if they finish second (victory for Russia), they will face Norway, the scarecrow of the other part of the competition.
“We take what will happen, anyway to win the title we will have to beat everyone.
I want to say that there is no one left who can stand in our way, ”enthuses Alexandra Lacrabère.
“We want to win and we have the qualities to go to the end.
We have a huge bench, ”added the guardian Cleopatra Darleux, all smiles at the press conference.
The break of nearly 96 hours between the last match of the French against Russia (28-28) and the kick-off against Sweden made the Bleues slightly out of their rhythm at Euro-2020.
They took a little half an hour to get completely into the game, accusing in the first period up to three goals behind (12-9, 22nd).
But as against Montenegro, Spain or Russia, they knew how to keep their calm, not to panic and returned to the score little by little at the end of the first period, to join the locker room tied (14-14).
Lacrabère sets the sights
The entry into play of Kalidiatou Niakaté on the left side of the back base, relaying an excellent Estelle Nze Minko, did the French women good: two goals, an interception and a penalty caused to allow the French women to s' escape the score (17-14, 34th) and give yourself some air.
After the meeting, it was with a few swaying steps that Nze Minko went to seek her award for best player of the match (six goals out of nine attempts), before joining her teammates in the middle of the field and celebrating the qualification.
On the seven-meter throw line, Paloise Alexandra Lacrabère set the sights, signing an impeccable four on four on penalties, after having suffered several failures during the first meetings of the first round and the main round.
The French defense, around Béatrice Edwige, continued to stifle the Swedish attack in the second half, stronger physically and better in place, conceding only eleven goals in the second half hour of play. “It was a very good match.
They surprised us.
We had to hold on to the shock.
Our rotations and the quality of our defense mean that we had attacking balls.
But I think Sweden really had a good game and used everything they could, ”said coach Olivier Krumbholz.
So here are the French women in the semi-finals, the goal set by Olivier Krumbholz before leaving for Denmark, in order to finally put behind them the failure of the World Cup-2019 in Japan last year and the elimination in the first round. .
They thus keep the hope of retaining their continental title won two years ago at home at Paris-Bercy, a feat that only Denmark in the 1990s and Norway in the 2000s and 2010s have achieved.
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