Just a few hours after their fine fourth place at the World Water Polo Championships, the French men's team knows their opponents at the Paris Olympic Games.
Twelve nations are qualified for this tournament.
A draw determined this Saturday the two groups of six who will launch the competition, before the final phase.
And the Blues will finally face Australia, Serbia, Hungary, Japan and Spain.
Australia, Hungary and Spain are well-known opponents of the French, since they met them during this World Cup in Doha, with a mixed record.
Winners of Australia in the round of 16 (11-8) and Hungary in the quarter-final (11-10), Thomas Vernoux and his teammates lost against the Spaniard in the match for third place ( 14-10).
🚨Draw #Paris2024 men's water polo tournament 🤽♂️
Group A:
🇭🇷-🇮🇹-🇷🇴-🇬🇷-🇺🇸-🇲🇪
Group B:
🇦🇺-🇷🇸-🇫 🇷-🇭🇺- 🇯🇵-🇪🇸
Come on blues!
💪🇫🇷@FFNatation #waterpolo #TeamFrance #Bleus
— FFN - Water Polo (@FFN_WaterPolo) February 17, 2024
The girls weren't any luckier.
Despite this delicate draw, the French water polo team will aim for the gold medal.
“We proved to everyone that we were capable of going for a medal, or even the title next summer,” declared Thomas Vernoux after the Blues' match for third place.
🚨Draw #Paris2024 women's water polo tournament 🤽♀️
Group A:
🇭🇺-🇦🇺-🇨🇦-🇨🇳-🇳🇱
Group B:
🇫🇷-🇬🇷-🇮🇹-🇺 🇸-🇪🇸
Come on the blue ones!
💪🇫🇷@FFNatation #waterpolo #TeamFrance #Bleues
— FFN - Water Polo (@FFN_WaterPolo) February 17, 2024
The draw for the women's tournament was also made.
Les Bleues will meet Greece, Italy, the United States and Spain in a ten-team tournament.
A complicated draw for the French who, at the Doha World Cup, lost heavily to Greece (11-6) and Spain (14-7).
They did not win any matches in this competition, and were eliminated in the group stage.