Less than four months after its Olympic coronation in the silence of the closed door of Tokyo and a full week before its entry into the running in the World Championship in Spain against Angola, the French team faces Hungary this Friday evening in preparation (9 p.m., live on the Équipe channel) at the Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium in Paris.
The Blue will meet again on Sunday (5 p.m.) these same Hungarians before joining Spain where the World Cup will officially start on Wednesday.
France 🇫🇷 ⚡ 🇭🇺 Hungary
First preparation match for the 2021 IHF World Cup for the Bleues ✊
📺 Kick-off at 9:05 p.m. on @beinsports_FR & @lachainelequipe #BleuetFier pic.twitter.com/xyLIM0g5PP
- French Handball Teams (@FRAHandball) November 26, 2021
The context
Handball is sometimes crazy. The Blue have not yet recovered from their Olympic emotions that they must already compete in a World Championship. “The Olympics, the World Championship immediately after, the French Championship, the Champions League: girls play too much, regrets coach Olivier Krumbholz. I am in favor of a greater spacing of international competitions and a World Cup every four years. »How in men, it comes back every two years, diluting its interest and performance, especially in the Olympic year. In Spain in the group stage, the Blue will be opposed to Angola, Slovenia and Montenegro.
💯 At work since Monday, the Olympic champions have only one goal in mind: to win the World Cup!
🗣O.Krumbholz: "The girls today have great confidence in their ability"
Following the interview with the coach & the issues
➡️ https://t.co/uSUYQaOtz9 #BleuetFier pic.twitter.com/NeXRGbjjDn
- French Handball Teams (@FRAHandball) November 25, 2021
The game
In Coubertin, in the home of PSG, the Olympic champions face Hungary twice this weekend.
The first preparation match takes place this Friday evening before the rematch on Sunday at the same place.
Seventh in the Olympics, Hungary remains a tough opponent: "I found the girls in better condition than last October," says Olivier Krumbholz.
We start the work by taking it easy because they are coming out of a dense period in the Champions League.
But we are working well by regaining our gaming habits and hoping to be operational as soon as possible.
"
The player to watch
Méline Nocandy.
Thirteen Olympic champions are called for the World Cup and therefore for this double confrontation against the Hungarians in Coubertin.
The opportunity for an Olympic champion, Méline Nocandy, to take her marks in the capital.
The former Metz signed Thursday in favor of Paris 92 and even if the club does not play Coubertin but Issy on the other side of the Seine, the public in the capital will be able to get to know her: “Méline is, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world.
I consider her as our Mbappé of women's handball, by her precocity and her limitless margin of progress, ”anticipates the coach of the capital Yacine Messaoudi.