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European Handball Championship
Victorious, not without difficulty, over Austria on Monday, the French team reached the last four of the Euro (33-28) and will play its fifth semi-final in a row in a major competition. It will be against Sweden on Friday.
France Télévisions – Sports Editorial
Published on 01/22/2024 7:33 p.m. Updated on 01/23/2024 00:04
Reading time: 2 min Frenchman Elohim Prandi faces Austrian Michael Miskovez during the main round of the Euro, January 22, 2024. (AFP)
The Blues could not be surprised. Austria, which had already managed to obtain a draw against Spain, Croatia and Germany in this Euro, promised to be a tough opponent and was so on Monday January 22. The French team, which never really broke away from the score except in the final minutes, ultimately won 33-28, and qualifies for the semi-finals of the European Championship where it will face Sweden on Friday (5:45 p.m.).
Has playing to finally evolve with the support of the public rather than its hostility destabilized the Blues? The German spectators had understood that a French victory would be more useful to their team, neck and neck in group 1 with an astonishing Austria which managed, once again, to hold off a historic handball nation.
Euro handball: “We had a real quarter-final today”, Luka Karabatic Euro handball: Luka Karabatic’s reaction after qualifying. – (TLS / FRANCE 3)
From the start of the match, the Austrians put pressure on the Blues by scoring on all their possessions to already lead 4-1 in less than four minutes. In diesel mode, the Blues gradually returned to the score and even led by three points in the 27th minute of play (15-12), but too many turnovers and a lack of concentration allowed Austria to equalize and go ahead at the break (16-15).
Bellahcene closes the store
Only 52% of French possessions then led to a goal, with a lot of imprecision, a French fault since the start of the Euro, as for Nedim Remili (2/5). In the second half, the Blues could hope for a drop in speed from Austria, who does not have the same depth of bench and does not allow much rotation, but it only arrived late. Once again starting in goal, Samir Bellahcene was called upon and responded (15 saves) to allow the Blues to no longer be caught.
Euro handball: the reactions of Elohim Prandi and Ludovic Fabregas after the qualification – ()
Even hanging on, the Blues won as in their first two matches of the main round against Croatia and Iceland, and therefore ensured qualification for the last four even before their last meeting against Hungary. “It’s a good thing to achieve. This match wasn’t always easy. It took us a while to find a consistent performance, it’s also linked to the quality of the Austrian team which showed why it was at this level of the competition. We had to find resources in the second half to win.”analyzed coach Guillaume Gille at the end of the match.
The French team will thus compete in its fifth consecutive major competition semi-final after those of the 2021 World Cup, the Tokyo Olympics, Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup. “The final four is where this team must find itself. It proves its quality and the consistency of its performance. It places us as a benchmark team”continued Guillaume Gille, who since his arrival at the head of the Blues for the 2021 world championship, has achieved a 5/5 in the last four.
