They dreamed of finishing the Worlds and their adventure in Doha on a podium and a little champagne... The hopes of the French water polo team were dashed on Saturday morning during the match for the bronze medal.
Against Spain (14-10), the Blues missed the start of the match, losing too many balls in attack, trapped by the opposing defense.
The outburst of five goals at half-time proved insurmountable, even for a team accustomed to comebacks.
#Doha2024 |
🇫🇷 Led throughout the match, France lost in the small final of the World Water Polo Championships against Spain and took fourth place in the competition.
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— francetvsport (@francetvsport) February 17, 2024
But this final setback is certainly not what will remain of the blue epic.
In Qatar, this French team wrote the most beautiful page in its post-war history: its best result at the Worlds until then was a sixth place in Fukuoka last year.
But before that, to find an incursion at such a level, you have to go back to eighth place... in 1986!
Not quite yet experienced at such a level, the “Hunters”, nickname they gleaned this week, never seemed paralyzed by the challenge, whether during the historic exploit against Hungary in quarters (11-10) or during the epic semi-final lost to Croatia (16-17).
At the Games, the dream is possible
This fourth place is the result of long-term work, initiated by the return to the bench of coach Florian Bruzzo in 2021, with one objective in mind: the 2024 Olympic Games, this summer in Paris... Just one hundred years after the The only gold medal in the history of French water polo.
After having learned to make themselves known to the general public this week, the Blues should benefit from unprecedented support at home.