The French women’s handball team achieved the feat of beating Norway at home (24-23) on Sunday in Trondheim, a success which allows them to continue their flawless performance at the World Cup and reach a quarter-final more affordable. Instead of facing the Netherlands, first in group IV, the Blues, who topped Pool II of the main round ahead of Norway (10 pts against 8) will face the Czech surprise on Tuesday, still in Trondheim.
The Czechs eliminated the Spaniards and represent a bad memory for the Olympic champions who, reshuffled and already qualified, lost against them in April 2022 as part of qualifying for the Euro (31-30).
“Confirmation that the French team is progressing well”
But the Blues are approaching this sort of revenge with full confidence, after having reaped a sixth victory in as many matches and brilliantly passed the test against the Norwegians, reigning world champions and double European champions.
Along the way, they broke their black streak against the Scandinavians, who had won their last three competitive confrontations (28-20 in the semi-finals of Euro-2022, 29-22 in the final of the World Cup-2021 and 22-20 in the Euro-2020 final).
“We wanted to finish first, have a great match and show that we hadn’t won (so far) because we had faced teams of a slightly lower level. It’s also a bit of confirmation that the French team is making good progress. It also takes place for the quarters, the semis and beyond because we will be even better next summer,” declared coach Olivier Krumbholz.
More favorable picture
The reigning Olympic champions, who benefited from fewer counter-attack balls than in their previous matches, due to the efficient Norwegian withdrawal, relied on the long-distance right arm of Kanor (4/8) and the support of the captain Estelle Nze Minko (6/8).
It was the latter who once again rushed into a mouse hole to score the winning goal, 45 seconds from the end, before Glauser blocked, by conveniently squeezing his legs, Stine’s last attempt Skogrand, a few seconds from the siren.
While a draw would have placed Norway in first place, the goalkeeper was celebrated by her teammates, who invaded the field and shouted their joy in front of some 8,000 spectators at Spektrum. With this success, the Blues also open up a more favorable final picture. They will only be able to meet the Norwegians in a possible final, an objective now completely accessible.