The holidays for handball players are not for this week.
While the French Championship is in its last third for the majority of players, those of the national teams are playing several qualifying matches for Euro 2022, starting with the Blues of Guillaume Gille, in Greece this Tuesday (7 p.m.) .
Two more matches to add to a busy end-of-season schedule, due to the multiple postponements accumulated over several months ... and which are not necessarily synonymous with handicap.
In sporting terms, Serbia, who beat the France team in early January, are already qualified.
Second place will be played between Greece and France.
The latter, fourth in the last world in Egypt, is widely favorite.
On the human level, the double programming, planned for a long time, forces some Blues to line up on the field just 48 hours after the shock of the championship between PSG and Nantes, not to mention those who played Friday and Saturday.
🇬🇷🌩🇫🇷 A double confrontation with the program of the week.
🎯 The goal is simple: qualification for the EHF EURO 2022!
📲 https://t.co/48JuF88El7 #BleuetProud
- French Handball Teams (@FRAHandball) April 26, 2021
To do the best, Guillaume Gille and his staff flew to Greece this Monday morning with a group of sixteen players, mainly made up of those who played in the recent Olympic qualifying tournament. About ten others will join the Maison du Handball in Créteil this Tuesday evening, where the return match will take place next Sunday. “In addition to a rest period offered to the players most in demand, we also want to carry out a large workforce review in preparation for the Olympic Games,” explains the coach.
As for the Starligue clubs concerned by the France team, the current situation is special: "We are living through an unprecedented period, with a particularly busy schedule for the end of the season," says Franck Maurice, the Nîmes coach, who has four players selected with the selection (Michaël Guigou, the captain, Jean-Jacques Acquevillo, then Rémi Desbonnet and O'brian Nyateu from this Wednesday).
To be in contact with Guillaume, he finds himself confronted with the problem of a club coach.
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"The guys are training for a series of matches"
This double confrontation against Greece is not necessarily bad news for the players. “The dynamic is good for them when they go into selection, says Maurice. The guys are training for a series of matches. They certainly prefer to play official meetings rather than having daily sessions all week. And when they return, it is with energy to spare. Jean-Jacques will continue to gain experience. And then it had been a long time since Nîmes had not had so many players with the France team. "
It remains to be hoped that everyone will end the week without physical worries. Hit in a thigh and absent from the match against Nantes, Luka Karabatic (PSG) remained in the capital for treatment. Montpellier's Yanis Lenne and Melvyn Richardson, also injured, are also absent for this international week. Benoît Kounkoud (PSG) and Romain Lagarde (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), who were to join the second group on Tuesday, left for Greece.