Nations League: France - Italy (Ottawa, Thursday 1:30 a.m. French time)
The Blues leave for a round.
After the magnificent Olympic title gleaned last summer in Japan, the ''Team Yavbou'' intends to move forward and focus on the upcoming deadlines.
This requires a difficult start against Italy, the fifth team in the world (France is 4th).
What's more, the Italians are the reigning European champions (September 2021), at a time when the French, barely recovered from their gold medal, were knocked out in the round of 16 against the Czech Republic (3 -0).
This match counting for the first day of the League of Nations therefore appears to be an excellent test for this French team in reconstruction.
New coach for a new life
Difficult to pass after the immense Laurent Tillie at the head of the France team.
After ten years in office and the most beautiful title in the history of French volleyball as a goodbye, ''
Grande Laurent ''
left his place as coach to the Brazilian Bernardo Rezende (''Bernardinho''), considered one of the best volleyball coaches in the world.
He will have served in the interim between the end of 2021 and March 2022, before resigning from his post for "personal problems".
It was therefore the Italian André Giani who took over the French team a few weeks ago.
The objective for him will be not to touch the playing identity of the group, with this madness that upsets encounters, while bringing his own little something extra... Italian technical and tactical science.
Back to basics therefore for the former player, who finds the Squadra Azzurra this night.
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Worlds and Olympic Games (already) in sight
It would be lying to say that this League of Nations is the major objective of this 2022 season for the France team.
But it at least has the advantage of being there to pick up the pace, automatisms, feelings lost or slightly forgotten.
In addition, the Blues will be able to confront the best nations (the first 10 of the world rankings are present at this tournament, in addition to some of the top 20).
Remember that the eight best teams (out of 17 in total) will qualify for the quarter-finals.
But the main thing is elsewhere.
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The objective for Andrea Giani's men will be to prepare as well as possible for the World Championship which will take place in Slovenia next August.
One of the major steps to remain a competitive team and defend the Olympic title in Paris in two years.
But before you think about that, there will already be more than a month of intense competition, and it starts tonight.
The complete program of the Blues for this League of Nations:
France
- Italy (tonight,
1:30 a.m.
)
Serbia -
France
(09/06,
22:30
)
France
- Canada (06/11,
1:30 a.m.
)
France
- Poland (12/06,
5 p.m.
)
China -
France
(06/22,
9 a.m.
)
France
- Netherlands (23/06,
5 a.m.
)
Japan -
France
(06/25,
9 a.m.
)
Germany -
France
(06/26,
5 a.m.
)
France
- USA (07/07,
5 a.m.
)
France
- Brazil (08/07,
08:40
)
France
-Argentina (09/07,
05:40
)
Australia -
France
(07/10, 8:40
a.m.
)