Long behind French co-sport, absent from a World Cup since 1974 and the Olympic Games since 1972, the French women’s team is in the process of raising the bar. One year from Paris 2024, it’s a good idea. Already seventh in the Euro in 2021, the Bleues du volleyball have booked their ticket for the round of 16 of the Euro. Already qualified before their fourth group match on August 21 against Slovakia since guaranteed to finish among the first four in their group, the daughters of Belgian coach Emile Rousseaux demonstrated against the Slovaks that this qualification is not the result of chance . The Slovaks were chopped up by a French team which is gaining momentum over the tournament. Winners in just under 90 minutes, Les Bleues did not give their opponents the slightest chance. In Tallinn in Estonia, the first set was the most hooked.
France won 25-21 and then the Slovaks let go to lose the second set 25-19. The third turned into punishment. Les Bleues did not need to waste a single one of their twelve match points to win 25-12: “I am very proud and happy with this victory, confides the receptionist-attacker Helena Cazaute at the microphone of the European federation . We didn’t drop a point from start to finish. We will take advantage of this victory but we are also already focused on the next one. »
The next one is still in the pool match from August 22 (4 p.m.), still in Estonia against the Netherlands. The challenge is simple: first place in Pool D between the two undefeated teams in the group. Les Bleues will then take the direction of Florence in Italy to play their round of 16 against an opponent (and a schedule on Saturday or Sunday) which remains to be determined. The only certainty: thanks to their perfect course so far, the Blue will not yet face Italy, the favorite nation of the tournament, on home soil at this stage. They therefore perhaps have an opportunity to do better than their best ranking (7th therefore in 2021 and elimination in the quarter-finals) in a Euro for almost half a century. The last time the French women’s team reached the quarter-finals of a European Championship was in… 1951.
