World handball: Qualified for quarter-finals, France merciless to Iran (41-29)

This was not the most difficult obstacle in the way of the French. But the French did their job and won their fifth game in a row since the start of the World Cup hosted by Poland and Sweden. Faced with an Iranian team that has played second in the world since 2015, the French didn’t have to force their talent to win (41-29).

Having calmed down before the match thanks to Spain’s victory over Slovenia earlier in the day (31-26), the French were guaranteed to reach the quarter-finals. Due to circumstances, Guillaume Gilles switched his workforce with the packages of Nikola Karabatich, who suffers from a bruised leg, and Dicky Mem, who has been absent since the beginning of the world and the victim of an abdominal contracture.

Generosity in defense

This did not stop the Blues from making a minimum. If on offense Melvin Richardson’s entry in the first period was good, the defense offered the Iranians some bounty, who didn’t ask for that much. Defeated by Spain (22-35) or Slovenia (21-38) in previous matches, Petit Puse was just four goals behind France (14-18) by the break.

However, Remy Desbonnet, who replaced Vincent Gerard in goal, did not deserve it, making 9 saves in the first period. After the break, his place in the cage was taken by Charles Bolzinger, the third goalkeeper.

The Blues leave with the best of intentions for the second period. They extended their lead to +8 thanks to Ludovic Fàbregas (14-22, 35th). Losses of the ball are connected with the Persians, who break down completely (20-30, 45th place). Kicks by Mathieu Grebil or Nedim Remilie blew up Iran (24-36, 53′). Never in danger, the Blues put on a serious show to win in big positions (41-29).

Thibault Brie, who was named man of the match and scored 6 goals, savors at the microphone of BeIN Sports: “I am happy. In the second half we set the path. We didn’t have fun in the first half because we didn’t defend enough. In second place are the ingredients, which is a pleasure even for French fans. Only efficiency needs to be improved. Personally, I have to work on it better because when we play Sweden or Denmark it can cause problems. Now let’s move on to Spain, which catches a lot and plays a lot of false rhythm. Defense is played in a checkerboard pattern. We have players who like to come running and they will annoy us with that. On the defensive, we need to get out of it now. »

For his part, Charles Bolzinger smiled broadly: “That’s great. We are where we wanted to be. We knew that today we had to deliver the ingredients because we had to respect this opponent. Here’s what we did. France-Spain is always interesting to watch and play. It will be a test for us to see where we are in the competition because the level will go up. In fact, this season I was supposed to be with the National 1 in Montpellier, and today I get to the World Cup. It’s incredible. »

Guillaume Gilles, the French coach, clearly says: “This is a very good deed. We see the complexity of the course of this competition. This is the fifth game. The quarter-final is just around the corner, but before that we have a tempting France-Spain. In general, I am very satisfied with the evening, even if the start was rather in diesel mode. Now we are waiting for a duel at a very high altitude. France-Spain in major competitions decided the fate of these competitions. There are so many players who know the Spaniards that there is a special dimension. There are so many ingredients that make it special. We are going to play at the very first level because we want to compete with this team from Spain. And we also have no way of knowing who we will play against. The desire to choose an opponent at this time of the competition is often a very poor calculation. »

If the French were a bit on the inside in the first period, then it was definitely to keep some underfoot on Sunday. Against Spain (20:30) still in Krakow, Poland, Guillaume Gilles’ men will fight for first place in Group I of the main round. The Blues’ quarter-final is scheduled for Wednesday in Gdansk, Poland.