The French team started its European Championship perfectly this Thursday evening in Szeged in the south of Hungary.
In a packed room and in a country ignoring indoor gauges, the Blues beat Croatia (27-22).
Before facing Ukraine on Saturday (6 p.m.) and Serbia on Monday (8:30 p.m.), Guillaume Gille's team already has a foot and a few toes in the next round.
This Euro is therefore off to a good start and, after all the adventures encountered during the preparation, it was really not a foregone conclusion.
The coach must breathe a big sigh of relief.
And on the other end of the court, @Gerard_Vincent for @FRAHandball 🇫🇷 🔥#ehfeuro2022 #watchgamesseemore pic.twitter.com/BpmyI3G9Qv
— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) January 13, 2022
Only, the Blues had the good idea to quickly stifle Croatian ambitions (9-6, 20th).
In this very great classic of world handball, since the two nations meet practically in every major competition (17 oppositions out of 20 tournaments since 2006 in a Euro, a World Cup or the Olympics), the Croatians wanted revenge.
A year ago in Montpellier during the TQO, a victory for France (30-26) had deprived them of the trip to Tokyo, they who were Olympic champions twice in 1996 and 2004. This success had been the act founder of the Olympic campaign which led Valentin Porte and his family to Japan with the outcome that we know.
But, on the other hand, there was not.
For Vincent Gérard, there was no question of it from the start: “We spend our lives playing revenge in high-level sport”, was content to recall the PSG goalkeeper.
The French, stronger in all positions, checked the Balkan players deprived of their Barcelona player Luka Cindric who had not recovered well from the Covid.
“The end of the competition is still far away”
But the end of the first period was more delicate and, at the break, nothing was really done yet (13-11).
The Olympic champions therefore had no right to relax in the second period.
They didn't, leaving the gingham team at a safe distance.
10 minutes from the final whistle, France had a 4-goal lead (23-19, 50th).
Enough to approach the end of the game calmly and impose itself more or less quietly.
Born to a Croatian father and a Serbian mother, Nikola Karabatic, who left the captain's armband to holder Valentin Porte back after a negative Covid test, began his quest for a fourth European title after 2006. 2010 and 2014. If he succeeds, he will further improve his fabulous record.
He doesn't need that to be already legendary but still.
However, he swears not to think about it: “I don't think about that at all.
The end of the competition is still very far away and I prefer to focus on the beginning.
Especially on a Euro where the path is always very difficult and very long to get to the end.
» Next meeting for the star and the Blues on Saturday against Ukraine beaten by Serbia (31-23).
