Complicated beginnings but mission accomplished: the French won against Poland (26-24) for their first match of the World Cup.
The important thing is the two points of victory. The maxim is more than well known in sport. And it applies wonderfully to the scenario of this opening match of the 2023 World Championship for France, victorious in the pain of the Polish host country (26-24) in a “saucer” of hot Katowice. But eventually extinguished.
The first act, on the other hand, turned out to be jagged for the Blues entering the match very gently, misplacing a few too many balls against the Poles who had also activated the “generosity” mode, in particular on this incredible failure alone at six meters in Moryto’s counterattack. This rickety start on both sides, no doubt linked to the pressure of the event, gave birth to a balanced duel after a good quarter of an hour of play (8-8). The moment chosen by the French to suddenly press the accelerator against a Polish team forced to start their turnover to blow their executives. And very quickly, the obvious was obvious: the bench of the Whites and Reds was not at all on the same level as the starting seven…
This materialized in a 4-0 in four minutes in favor of the visitors (8-12, 22nd). Alas, this great advantage did not last until the break, the fault in the last five minutes completely missed. Carried by an excellent Szymon Sicko, Poland took the opportunity to reduce the gap and join the locker room on a minimalist gap of one length (13-14). A lesser evil, which it was now for the Blues not to regret. This was going to be the case until the last five minutes of play, with a dominant French team, but unable to find continuity in their game to really put an end to the hopes of their hosts (21-22, 51st).
A stammering defense, then found in money-time
Fortunately, a few saves from Vincent Gérard and a rediscovered defense prevented Guillaume Gille’s men from a bad surprise in the last moments. With this victory more interesting in terms of accounts than in the way, France can approach the rest, which will go through a match in its hand against Saudi Arabia on Saturday (6:00 p.m.), with more serenity.
