A Restructured Roster Climbs to the Final

Entering the tournament under head coach Andrea Giani, Les Bleus faced significant uncertainty following the absence of eight players from the Paris 2024 Olympic championship squad. Veterans such as Earvin Ngapeth, Jean Patry, Barthélémy Chinenyeze, Nicolas Le Goff, Yacine Louati, Jenia Grebennikov, Kévin Tillie, and Quentin Jouffroy were left off the roster as the coaching staff turned its focus toward building depth for the future, with an eye toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

“I am proud. When you effect a great change like this, you start from zero,” Andrea Giani said following the quarterfinal round. “The team that is here, we say it is Olympic champion, but it is not true, there are nine players less. And we built a team with a nice identity.”

Despite the roster turnover, the young French squad gained momentum throughout the tournament. In the semifinal against Finland—a side that had eliminated Italy in the quarterfinals—France dropped the second set before reclaiming control. Théo Faure contributed 20 points and Mathis Henno added 21 points to guide the squad past the Finnish block.

The Championship Showdown Against Poland

France will face a Polish national team that secured its spot in the final with a straight-sets victory (3-0) over Slovenia. Poland enters the fixture as the tournament favorite, boasting a formidable lineup that includes star player Wilfredo Leon.

“Even if there are a lot of changes, it’s still a very good team,” Wilfredo Leon noted of the French squad prior to the semifinal results. “They continue to fight, that’s why they were in the semifinal.”

The French team is searching for its second continental title in history, following its sole previous European Championship victory in 2015 under a previous generation led by players like Benjamin Toniutti, Earvin Ngapeth, Trévor Clévenot, and Hubert Henno.

“The objective was to create a team, a new project and I think that is felt because we are super united on the field and outside,” Trévor Clévenot said of the team’s cohesion.

Match Details and What Lies Ahead

The European Championship final between France and Poland takes place on Saturday at 21:00 local time in Milan, Italy. With less than twenty-four hours to recover from their semifinal victory over Finland, the French squad prepares to contest the continental crown against the reigning Olympic runners-up.