The France team ends the Euro in a position that no one wants, it is sometimes called the place du c….
Fourth place, more than all the others, is the one that feeds the most frustration.
She offers nothing, not a medal except the one that is said to be made of chocolate but which in real life does not exist.
She does not leave a good memory except that of a double frustration, a defeat in the half then a setback in the small final.
Like a year ago at the World Cup in Egypt, the French team finished in fourth place, just off the podium in a position that leaves no trace in history books or online encyclopedias.
The overtime defeat against Denmark (35-32) that the Blues had narrowly beaten earlier in the week weighed down this Hungarian weekend.
A month ago during the preparation, when all the glitches were accumulating (Covid, injuries, aggression…), everyone would have signed for a place in the last four.
It is already a performance.
Nevertheless, this Euro ends with an ugly little bitter taste by saying that there was surely still better to do.
To play this match, which was played as much in the head as in the legs tired by more than two weeks of competition (9 matches in 18 days), it was above all necessary to remobilise.
The Danes entered the field without their top scorer of the tournament (47 goals).
PSG star Mikkel Hansen who has not been registered on the match sheet, without knowing the reason.
Also opposite, Guillaume Gille had made some changes since the match lost to Sweden on Friday.
In the cage, Wesley Pardin gave way to Rémi Desbonnet who had not yet played a minute in the tournament.
Still injured, Romain Lagarde remained on the sidelines but Kentin Mahé, who missed so much against the Swedes, returned after being tested negative for Covid-19.
An extension and a disappointment
In this dented match, beaten from the last four, the French got off to the best start. A little inside against the Swedes, Vincent Gérard showed what he was capable of and the Danes broke their teeth (5-8, 11th). But this duel for the place of honor between the French Olympic champions and the Danish world champions was quickly balanced. The Danes have nibbled their delay and, at the break, the players of Guillaume Gille had only one goal in advance (13-14). This already promised a high-flying second half and a suspenseful end to the game.
Much more than expected at the time.
The two teams remained neck and neck (24-24, 48th) in a fight worthy of two of the best selections of the past ten years.
The 61st opposition in history between the Blues and the Reds was indecisive, which gives even more regret not having seen it in the real final.
The fight was also so tight that it took a 10-minute extension after regulation time (29-29) to decide between the two best enemies.
An extension that the Danes mastered much better than the French who had difficulty breaking through the wall.
In the end, the world champions took their revenge on Wednesday night's pool match by winning 35-32 in front of the disappointed Blues.