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Handball World Cup: the Blues in the final for a seventh star!

2023-01-27T21:52:00.904Z


The Blues did not tremble. Winners of the Swedes (31-26), in the semi-final of the World Championship, they will meet Denmark on Sunday,


The France team wanted revenge and the Blues got one.

Magical and beautiful.

After two semi-final defeats against these same Swedes at the Egyptian World Cup in 2021 (26-32) then at the Euro a year ago in Hungary (33-34), the Olympic champions have overcome the curse.

This is wonderful news.

It seems that the proverb "never two without three" does not translate into Swedish.

It's great because six years after his last world title (and his last final of this competition) in his house in Bercy, here is France again in the final of the World Championship.

The Blues have only one hour left to play to win their seventh star.

And they played without Niko Karabatic

King Nikola Karabatic, even on one leg from the height of his 38 years and who did not enter for this semi-final, only has a few big efforts to make to get his fifth personal coronation, the last of such a masterful career.

If he achieves this incredible feat, he will equal his friend and his boss at PSG, the only one who today has 5 world gold medals on a shelf: Thierry Omeyer.

Facing them this Sunday evening in Stockholm, Guillaume Gille's players will find a team they know inside out.

Denmark winner of Spain in half (26-23) will try to win a third world title in a row.

It would be historic too.

World champions against Olympic champions, there is no better poster even if it is nothing new.

It's going to be grand.

But what sweats had to be left on the ground of the gigantic Tele 2 Arena in the Swedish capital this Friday evening to get there!

As expected, this semi-final against a yellow tide of 20,000 fans was epic, boiling, indecisive, epic at times.

It took nerves of steel to pull through.

Without their best player, Jim Gottfridsson, injured in the finger during the quarter-final, the Swedes sold their skin dearly.

Remarkable Mahé, very large Mem, enormous Fabregas

But the Swedes will not have the chance to try to chisel the gold of a world title in front of his people.

Even without Nikola Karabatic diminished by a damn pain in the foot, the Blues were valiant.

Remarkable in defense, they had the good idea to start the evening well (16-12 at the break).

They continued it well (24-21, 45th) and above all, above all, they finished it perfectly (31-26).

“It was twice that the Swedes beat us but we took this one by the right end.

We leave with a victory that does not suffer from any dispute.

We are tired, in spin mode in the cycle of a washing machine at the end of this Mondial.

But now, even if it means playing to the end, you might as well win » savors Vincent Gérard at the microphone of BeINsport

Kentin Mahé was remarkable, Dika Mem very tall, Ludovic Fabregas and Nicolas Tournat enormous, Nedim Remili faithful to himself.

Vincent Gérard put wire mesh on his cage.

All these talents send France to the final.

“I am proud of the boys in what they put into this match, resumes Guillaume Gille on BeINSport.

The Nordic teams in general are not successful for us but this was a very successful match and it was necessary to go to the final.

We had our best match since the start of the competition and I'm very happy about that.

»

The 8th world final of the Blues

Now, very smart who can say who will write his name on the blue and gold trophy of world champion on Sunday again.

There really isn't a favourite.

France and Denmark both have a gargantuan track record.

The Danes will participate in their sixth world final: they have lost three and are therefore not invincible.

The blue balance sheet?

This is the eighth time that France has qualified for the final of a World Handball Championship.

She won them all, except one.

This defeat goes back 30 years.

It was in 1993 and it was in… Sweden.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2023-01-27

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