big disappointment for the French handball players, defending champions and beaten at the last minute by Germany in the quarter-finals

Finalist in the last four editions of the Olympic Games, the French team fell against Germany on Wednesday and was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

It was a real disappointment, an earthquake on the handball planet. Finalists in every edition of the Olympic Games since 2008, with three titles, the French team was eliminated in the quarter-finals and will not be awarded a medal. The Blues, saved for a long time by their goalkeeper Vincent Gérard, showed a better face than during the preliminary round, but were stunned by Germany’s equalizer on the gong. Stunned, they lost in extra time (35-34) on Wednesday, August 7.

The atmosphere was already extraordinary on Tuesday for the French women’s team, it was completely overexcited on Wednesday. The roars of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium on each French goal unleashed the Blues. Germany, first out of its group, did not seem to be the team confident against France, qualified by forceps.

More successful offensively to find their pivot, the Blues took a slight lead after the quarter of an hour of play (8-12, 17th). Facing them, the best goalkeeper of Euro 2024, Andreas Wolff, was unrecognizable (0/9). The German staff then replaced him with David Spaeth, who made life difficult, very difficult, for the French.

But the French team’s goalkeeper also shone, and that’s an understatement. Already monumental in the first half (12 saves), Vincent Gérard believed he could save the country with three saves on seven-meter throws, in addition to all his other saves (24 shots stopped out of 57, or 42% success).

These saving saves came especially at crucial moments for the Blues, who were leading by three goals at half-time (17-14), by six goals after the break (20-14, 32nd), but who saw Germany equalize and even take a lead (25-26, 51st). Boosted by the extra spirit that these saves gave them, the Blues took the lead again and thought they would win. They even had possession of the ball with seven seconds left in the match, with a one-goal lead.

Forced to perform a feat to win, the Germans rushed at Dika Mem, the ball carrier, who lost it. There were two seconds left and Renars Uscins equalized, on the siren (29-29), leaving a stunned Dika Mem on the bench before starting extra time. The extra ten minutes then seemed unbreathable, both for the public and for the substitutes in the stands, unable to stay seated, jumping up and down as if to enter the field.

But despite four goals from Hugo Descat, the decision was made in the last two minutes, with the Blues down by one man after the temporary exclusion of Elohim Prandi. Nikola Karabatic, who came on in this new money time, to postpone his retirement, could not do anything, and it was Renars Uscins who came, once again, to score the decisive goal for the German victory. The French team will not achieve the unprecedented Euro-Olympic double in the same year, which it had come to seek.