"So far, so good."
Obviously, Guillaume Gille knows his cinematographic references when taking stock of the first two phases of this World Cup in Egypt, very agitated otherwise.
Even if, lucid, the French coach does not allow himself to be gently lulled into illusions by the hitherto perfect course of his troops, which could act as a fatal trompe l'oeil when approaching the choppy matches.
“Our course was not as easy as the 6 wins out of 6 matches attest.
We also had our difficulties, we are in the process of building ourselves, finding benchmarks and we are happy to finish this main round unbeaten.
It's a good way to prepare for this quarter-final which will truly be the turning point of the competition.
Namely, either we go home, or we fight for the medals.
We realize that the essential is yet to come and we will have to be there against a very big opponent. ”
Hungarian sin of sufficiency?
A "very big opponent" in the quarterfinals who is called Hungary, an important nation in the discipline which had experienced a serious air gap 5-6 years ago by not qualifying for the 2015 World Cup, or for the 2016 Olympic Games, but which, since, seems to find color with a new generation taking power and a few elders able to guide them with talent.
A team against which the Blues have no recent reference since it is necessary to go back to Euro 2012 to find traces of an official confrontation between the two formations.
At the time, the Hungarians won (23-26), without this having any impact on the confrontation on Wednesday.
This is also valid for the last friendly match between them, dating back to 2016 (victory of the Blues 28-25).
On the other hand, the attitude of the Magyars vis-à-vis Spain (defeat 28-36) Monday evening, it could have one in the psychological approach of the meeting ...
By leaving his best players - Maté Lekai (20 goals and 16 assists in five matches), Bence Banhidi (Hungarian second top scorer in the competition with 23 goals) or even goalkeeper Roland Mikler - at rest, Hungarian coach Istvan Gulyas has clearly give the impression of choosing his opponent in the quarterfinals, namely France, since a victory or a draw against Spain would have allowed him to retain the first place.
An accusation from which the main party defended himself: “We did not want to choose our opponent because France and Norway are two extremely strong teams.
We just wanted to give rest to players who had played too much since the start of the competition. ”
An explanation that holds since the three players in question still have the most important playing time of Hungary at this World Cup, despite therefore this match played in less.
"I hope we have the ability to show them that they were wrong not to play to the end."
Guillaume Gille
"It's their choice but my first feeling is to tell myself that it's a shame, in our preparation for this quarter, not to have seen a real match between the two teams that we had to face", a, for his part, commented Guillaume Gille.
“And then afterwards, I find that it is rarely a good decision to calculate, to imagine that by taking an option, we will put ourselves in better arrangements.
I hope we will have the ability to show them that they were wrong not to play to the end. ”
The coach of the Blues will therefore probably not miss the opportunity to pique his players a little on the subject, just to sharpen their motivation a little more when it comes to facing this Hungarian team which is based on a half-way relationship. very strong center-pivot, between Lekai and Banhidi, the latter being presented by Valentin Porte as one of the best in the world today.
“You have to let go. This role of favorite, we should perhaps forget it. "
Luke Abalo
But beyond the qualities, and any weaknesses, Hungarians, the most important for France will first be to focus on itself and approach this match in a good mental mood.
In the shoes of a favorite?
On the subject, Luc Abalo had been very clear a few days ago: “When we are afraid of doing something badly, we will do it badly.
I want to instill in the guys that we are no longer this great French team, that we haven't done anything yet.
There are players who have won things in this team, but there are very few.
The rest, they must prove it but by having fun, by playing thoroughly and without calculating.
What we need to do is put things into perspective, have fun and it's very hard to do when you put pressure on yourself that doesn't need to be.
I hope we will change this situation.
You have to let go.
This role of favorite, we should perhaps forget it. "
Word to the defense
A costume too large for a team said to be in reconstruction and which has definitely turned the glorious page of Experts to write a new one.
For this, two men will play a big role on the offensive plan: Kentin Mahé and Dika Mem.
The first is by far the biggest French goalkeeper since the start of the competition (28 goals and 17 assists) while the second continues to gain strength and offer solutions to nine meters that France lacked .
And beyond the attack, Michaël Guigou and others will try especially to confirm their progress in defense, which has always been the basis of all their success in the past.
Around the tandem Luka Karabatic-Ludovic Fabregas, the Blues want to form a wall on which will come crashing Hungarians then punished for not having respected them, nor for having respected the spirit of the game.
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