Special envoy to Tokyo
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
Michaël, this qualification for the last four was finally managed calmly…
Michaël Guigou:
“Yes, despite the somewhat incredible schedule for a quarter-final, everything went well and the most important thing was to win it.
Without having any injuries this time, which is always better than in the last match where we had experienced that (Timothey N'Guessan and Hugo Descat were injured against Norway).
Now, thanks to this schedule, we will take advantage of a rest period this afternoon, to analyze our opponent well and recover.
Read also: Olympics: attractive against Bahrain, French handball players spin in half
Will it be an advantage to have an extra half day of rest compared to Germany or Egypt, your future opponent in the semi-finals?
We will see. This morning, to be honest, it was a bit tough. It was more painful to wake up at 5:55 am than a few days ago, when we faced Brazil at the same time. What is complicated to manage are the schedule changes, to play a shot at 9:30 am, then at 9:30 am but in the evening. We never know how our body will react. Today, we won, we have a smile and it will be beneficial for the future.
You were able to make this match against Bahrain quite simple ...
We were a little in difficulty in defense at the start, but it's true that overall we were serious, diligent and well awake (smile).
Read also: Olympic Games: French basketball, volleyball and handball teams make football forget about it
Since the start of the competition, your attacking game has been very fluid, attractive…
Yes, it is a real satisfaction to evolve in this way. When you see the number of goals that Bahrain had taken so far, it was not as important as in this quarter. It's true that it's fluid, there is a better connection between the players. Also having a little two different sevens, it works well. The rotations are carried out harmoniously. We have been playing together for a while now and we have now understood the strategies put in place with the new staff. It's been working pretty well so far.
Among the effective connections, there is the one between Nedim Remili and Dika Mem which turns out to be very interesting…
Yes, of course. These are two players who talk a lot together, who have the advantage of having a great handball culture given what they experience in Paris SG and Barcelona in contact with great coaches. Not to mention their exchanges here with our staff. They are well connected on what they want to do and their determination. And then it ends up on the ground.