The Blues continue. After making short work of the Czech Republic when they entered the fray on Thursday (42-28), Guillaume Gille’s men easily dismissed Ukraine for their second group stage match this Saturday afternoon in Oslo (Norway). Qualification for the main round is now assured.
However, everything was not so simple in this meeting. Jostled in the first minutes, the French team struggled to really get into their match. Enough to let the Ukrainians take the advantage in the first quarter of an hour (9-8) despite an obvious difference in level between the two teams before kick-off.
Coach Guillaume Gille then reacts and takes his first timeout in the match. Back against his teammates, captain Ludovic Fabregas remobilizes his team, the six outfield players are replaced and the machine is restarted in Oslo. The French defense becomes impassable again and allows attackers to launch at full speed towards their opponents’ cages. Control is back for the Blues, who return to the locker room at the break with a comfortable lead of 12 points (12-24).
The Blues unfold
The French handball players then returned in the second half with the same intentions. The teammates of Melvyn Richardson, elected man of the match, delivered a nice offensive festival to confirm their qualification for the main round with, as a result, a gap of 20 points on the scoreboard at the final whistle (26-46).
“We started badly with intensity and concentration, we gave away goals that were too easy, it was not acceptable at that level. The players who returned brought a lot of freshness. We had a great reaction. I’m happy that we had a good second period too,” Ludovic Fabregas told BeIN Sports after the match.
Faced with the organizing country, Norway, the French team will not be able to afford another quarter of an hour of latency if it wants to be able to continue its flawless performance in this Euro 2026. The meeting is set for Monday at 8:30 p.m. for the Blues.
