Three out of three: the contract is fulfilled for the Blues at the end of the preliminary round of the World Cup.
Already qualified for the rest of the tournament, Guillaume Gille and his players nevertheless suffered against a Swiss team invited at the last minute.
The meeting was also marked by the injury of the French goalkeeper Wesley Pardin, hero of the inaugural match against Norway (28-24).
France 25 đ«đ·âĄđšđ 24 Switzerland
Victory at the end of the suspense, still undefeated in this 2021 IHF World Cup â
4⣠points in the pocket for the main round đȘ #BleuetFier #FRASUI pic.twitter.com/hZ3ucxWQLY
- France Hand Teams (@FRAHandball) January 18, 2021
What you must remember
Faced with an opponent of a higher level than that of the United States, who remained at home because of several cases of Covid, Guillaume Gille chooses to align in goals Wesley Pardin.
The Blues take the game in hand, but quickly fail to defeat Andy Schmid (37), the best Swiss player (5-8, 13th).
After twenty minutes of play, while the Blues are ironed in front of the score (11-10), Vincent GĂ©rard replaces in the cages Pardin, hit in a knee on a contact.
At the break, everything is to be done (14-14).
The wall is falling, the world is collapsing.
#FRASUI # Egypt2021 #handball pic.twitter.com/KMV40wQUEh
- Anec'Sport (@anec_sport) January 18, 2021
The mano to mano continued in the second half.
The France team is still ahead, but Switzerland clings to its striker (10 goals in total).
In the money time, when the two formations are tied (23-23), Luc Abalo signs a double synonymous with a victory born in pain.
The player: Michaël Guigou
Discreet against Norway, much better against Austria, the captain of the Blues did not splash the meeting with his talent.
The NĂźmois, on the other hand, proved invaluable at the start of the second half by stealing several balls from the Swiss, which put France on the best path.
The number: 4
Or the number of points acquired by the France team before attacking the main round on Wednesday.
The Blues, who will play, a priori against Algeria, their first match of the second round, will leave on equal points with Portugal, also author of a clear round after their success (26-19) against the Algerians.
Iceland should probably complete this pool of 4.
