End of suspense. 100 days before the start of the women’s handball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the French women’s team knows its opponents for the first round of its tournament: the Blues will face Angola, Brazil, Spain, the Countries -Bas and Hungary, during the first week of competition which will take place in Paris.
The draw took place this Tuesday afternoon at the Maison du handball in Créteil. The 12 teams qualified for the Games are divided into two groups of six. After facing each opponent, the four best teams will qualify for the quarter-finals and participate in the knockout phase which will determine the final winner at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (North).
As host country, France was able to choose which group it wanted to play in. After stepping aside for a few minutes to make his choice, Les Bleues coach Olivier Krumbholz opted for group B, thus avoiding coming across the formidable Scandinavian teams from the outset. “It was a little tricky to go into this group A where there would have been all the big guys with a lot of very difficult matches,” reacts the French tactician, who insists: “Our goal is to finish first in our group.”
The draw was made by the emblematic former captain of the French men’s team Jérôme Fernandez, who – according to a confession made just after the draw – would have made exactly the same choice as Olivier Krumbholz, in order to keep more freshness than the competitors with a view to the quarter-finals.
Like their male counterparts, the Blues, who became world champions last December, are the favorites for the tournament, which they will begin on July 25 against Hungary.
Group A: Korea, Denmark, Slovenia, Germany, Norway, Sweden.
Group B: Angola, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Hungary, France.
From Thursday July 25 to Saturday August 10, 2024 – Preliminary round at Arena Paris Sud 6
Thursday July 25, 2024: Hungary – France
Sunday July 28, 2024: France – Netherlands
Tuesday July 30, 2024: France – Brazil
Thursday August 1, 2024: Angola – France
Saturday August 3, 2024: Spain – France
