TOPS
To discover
The complete schedule and results of the Handball World Cup
The 2023 Handball World Cup rankings
Youth have fun, Guillaume Gille manages
Thibaud Briet (23) top scorer for the France team (tied with Nicolas Tournat) with his 6 goals, and incidentally elected man of the match by the IHF.
Charles Bolzinger who played the first minutes of his career in a World Championship at 22, for a total of six saves.
Elohim Prandi (24) who had fun sending a few missiles with his super-powerful arm (5 goals).
This match against Iran, devoid of any sporting stake other than to follow up with a fifth success, allowed Guillaume Gille's young troops to showcase themselves and build up a little confidence for the future.
Especially since the coach was able to let Nikola Karabatic breathe, in the stands, without pulling the rope of the others.
And the return of Dika Mem could be a magnificent added value.
The beautiful covers of the Blues
Since the beginning of this World Cup, the France team has made a specialty of stammering its first act endings, then returning to the fight perked up by its passage to the locker room to knock out any adversity.
Poland, Slovenia or even Montenegro had the right to do so, and Iran did not escape it either this Friday by conceding a 4-0 in four minutes as soon as the game resumed.
The gap went from 18-14 at the break to 22-14 in a flash.
Beautiful covers which should not, however, make us forget the very irregular first acts so far...
FLOPS
The very soft start of the match for the Blues
Admittedly, the victory of Spain against Slovenia (31-26) just before had offered them their ticket to the quarter-finals.
Certainly, it was useless, this Friday, to embark on crazy cavalcades and a champagne handball.
Nevertheless, the first quarter of an hour of the Blues against Iran will have been particularly insufficient on the defensive level, leaving the Iranians to score 9 goals in 18 minutes, or to be on a rhythm of one goal every two minutes unworthy of the pedigree French in defence.
In the end, despite improving in the second half, France conceded 29 goals from Iran.
Too much, but given the dispassionate context of the meeting, it will be forgiven very quickly...
Iranian defense far too rough
If the Blues lacked defensive intensity, the Iranians often put a little too much into this meeting.
Which probably explains why the leaders of world handball are reluctant to face him in a friendly match.
Thus, on several occasions, the French pivots that are Nicolas Tournat and Luka Karabatic took sanctioned blows of two minutes, but which could perhaps even have deserved a more definitive red card.
In particular on faults at the level of the arm of the shooters, always potentially very dangerous.
But finally, and fortunately, Iran will have taken only two minutes – a lot – and the Blues have a priori no injury to deplore.
