They sing, jump and dance on the field as if they had retained their title and won the gold medal. Even if this is not the case, their joy is sincere, immense. At the end of a long suspense with 10 minutes of extra time, the Bleues du hand left the World Cup with a bronze medal. They went to get it beating, in a fiery and all orange atmosphere with 15,000 Dutch fans, the Netherlands at home.
Even a bronze medal is still a medal and that counts. That adds a line to the list. The French team had already won everything in a World Championship: titles and gold like in 2003, 2017 and 2023 and four silver medals (1999, 2009, 2011, 2021). Oddly, one was missing: this bronze charm.
It can be added to the hall of the Maison du Hand in Créteil where all the trophies won over the past 30 years by all the national teams are displayed. If we had told them that the World Championship would end with this reward, Sébastien Gardillou’s Bleues would have signed with both hands. Because this medal avoids talking about failure at the end of this World Cup. On the contrary, it allows us to envisage the future which must lead this generation to the Los Angeles Games in two and a half years with a little confidence.
We can blame her for missing her semi-final against Germany two days earlier (29-23) but with this team, there is finally something to work on to get, from the next Euro in a year, a medal with a better color.
A stifling crossover with the Dutch
The tight and suffocating matches could be counted on the fingers of one hand in this World Cup that was too unbalanced with selections not always up to standard in the first phase. This small final for third or fourth place was part of this tiny list of suspenseful matches.
The two selections kept going back and forth in front of each other. The Blue led at the break (12-11) but the lead was never enough to take advantage. The Dutch always remained on the lookout, taking back control midway through the second half. Although not of great quality, the game was spectacular.
In the money-time, Tamara Horacek gave the French a goal lead (26-25) 15 seconds from the end but the Dutch snatched extra time at the last second. In overtime, with an intractable Hatadou Sako and an efficient Sarah Bouktit, the Blues led (30-27, 65th) before winning by controlling the end of the match with enormous energy. A year after a disappointing fourth place at the Euro, France can savor its return to a podium.
