Right-back Nedim Remili, who at 25 became a pillar of the French men’s handball team and Paris SG, will play a somewhat special meeting this Wednesday (6 p.m.) against Algeria, the country of origin of his father, in Cairo where he dreams of a second World Cup with the Blues.
Does it have the impression of being installed in selection? This “journalist’s question” makes him sigh as he contemplates the pyramids of Giza from the hotel balcony. “We’ll see at the end of the competition,” he sweeps away. “The most important thing is to continue on this path.”
This path is the rediscovered path to victory for the Blues, who arrived on tiptoe in Egypt after their elimination in the first round of Euro-2020 and who are entering the main round with three successes in as many matches. . Even if the last one, acquired Monday against Switzerland (25-24), was “up and down, we are still present in the fighting spirit. I like this state of mind.”
Against the Helvetians, Remili (1.95 for 94 kg) did not however particularly shine (1 goal, 1 assist) unlike his friend and competitor at the post Dika Mem (4 goals including 3 shots from distance). But his 12 assists since the start of the World Cup, the team’s best total, make it a precious element and compensate for a relative shooting efficiency so far (56%), especially at 9 m (2/6).
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At a position where Guillaume Gille has four options (Remili, Mem, Melvyn Richardson and Adrien Dipanda), the Barcelona and the Parisian, who are close, form “a good pair”, judge Remili. “I would have liked to play with him. We push each other, it’s competition but it’s healthy.”
Already 226 national goals
If the two left-handers joined the France team the same year, in 2016, before conquering their first world title in 2017 at Bercy, Remili, 2 years older than Mem, has a little lead on the clock.
With 74 selections, he is no longer very far from the symbolic bar of 100 capes beyond which we only find glorious elders (Luc Abalo, Vincent Gérard, Michaël Guigou, Luka Karabatic, Kentin Mahé, Valentin Porte). And with already 226 goals, he is the 5th scorer in activity for the Blues, far ahead of Mem (143) or the pivots Ludovic Fabregas (144) or Luka Karabatic (129).
Above all, we feel Remili very comfortable in a group where he willingly speaks even though he is one of the youngest. “We try as much as possible to think of the team and that’s what I like, that’s why I play handball”, answers the one always starting for a collective ball game, whether it is football or basketball.
At PSG, which he joined in 2016 from Créteil, his training club of which his father Kamel is the general manager, the Cristolien has chained the titles of champion of France but had to swallow each season his ambitions of continental coronation. The last time no later than three weeks ago at the Final Four where PSG suffered the Barcelona law from his buddy Mem. A “sad, disappointing” result, regrets the rear which had to turn immediately to Egypt.
Holiday memories
Where he will cross for the first time in his career the road to Algeria, country of his childhood vacations spent near Bejaïa in Kabylia. “It’s special because I have a lot of affection for my father’s country of origin,” he apprehends.
Remili hopes to recover the match ball, which features the emblems of his two countries. “It would make me happy to have a beautiful memory of this moment but first of all, I hope that this memory will be victorious. It is a great pride to be able to play against Algeria, but it remains a match like any other because we’re going to play it to win and there won’t be any freebies. “
Coached by Alain Portes, the former coach of the French women’s team, the Algerians rely on players from the local championship, and only 3 Starligue residents: right-back Ayoub Abdi (Toulouse), left winger Hichem Daoud (Istres) and center-back or left-back Abdelkader Rahim (Dunkirk). “These are players you can count on, real soldiers,” said Remili for whom this “team of valiant people represents Algeria well”. Who will have nothing to lose against France.
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