Impressive Fabregas and Bellahcene, a half in their pocket

Ludovic Fabregas INA FASSBENDER / AFP

The Ludovic Fabregas festival, the impassable Samir Bellahcene, the eternal blue weak times… Find out what to remember from the French success over Austria (33-28) this Monday.

TOPS

Qualification in hand

If the manner sometimes left something to be desired this Monday, the French team was nevertheless able to inflict its first defeat of the competition on Austria (33-28). A victory which above all allows the Blues to validate their ticket for the semi-finals even before the last day of this main round and the confrontation which awaits them on Wednesday against Hungary. Better still, Guillaume Gille’s men are certain to finish first after the German victory over Hungary, and therefore to challenge Sweden, rather than Denmark, in the semi-finals. More importantly, the French coach will then be able to afford to preserve some of his players, such as Nikola Karabatic or Dika Mem, which would not be anecdotal.

Read alsoEuro handball: difficult winners from Austria, the Blues in the semi-final

Fabregas wins the pivots match

Old-fashioned pivot, the Austrian Tobias Wagner has long posed serious problems to the French defense. But with his 4 out of 5 shooting, he was far from the French excellence symbolized by a gala Ludovic Fabregas, and logically elected man of the match. The Catalan scored a perfect 7 out of 7 in shooting, including two goals scored in his style, made of power and exceptional ability to seize even impossible balls. The only downside in his match was that he finished with the arch open, his head bandaged, a sign of his dedication also in defense.

Samir Bellahcene, the rise to power

The Kiel goalkeeper, once again the starter, had a tricky start to the match by conceding the first six opposing shots. But little by little, Samir Bellahcene was able to get his bearings and start to make a few saves. Nothing dazzling at the break with 6 shots blocked, but solid. The exceptional one was scheduled for a little later. Namely money time. Suddenly, the former last Dunkirk rampart proved impassable, making five saves in the last ten minutes, including an extraordinary one at close range on a perfectly executed opponent kung-fu attempt… Until Bellahcene put an end to it.

FLOPS

This French inability to kill matches

Since the start of the Euro, the Blues have enjoyed, almost in every match, repeating the same scenario. Namely taking 4 or 5 steps ahead, before letting themselves be caught more or less by their opponents. However, until now, apart from Switzerland who managed to snatch the point of the draw during the 1st round (26-26), France had always known how to extricate itself from the problems in which it got itself. Which was once again the case against Austria, who nevertheless managed to erase three-goal deficits three times. In vain, the last word remaining to France.