The Bleues have a date with their history, at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (Nord), Saturday August 10 (from 3:30 p.m. on France Télévisions and france.tv). Facing Norway in the final of the Olympic handball tournament, France can aim for an unprecedented double in its history, three years after its first title in Tokyo.
An epic qualification. To have the chance to defend their title on Saturday, the Bleues came from very far away in the semi-final. Led by four goals by Sweden with a quarter of an hour to go, the French team equalized at the end of the suspense, before winning in extra time (31-28).
Third Olympic final in a row. Since 2000, the French women’s handball team has not missed an edition of the Olympic Games. Long in the shadow of their male counterparts, the Bleues are now doing better: since 2016, they have participated in all the Olympic finals, with silver in Rio, and gold in Tokyo.
A revenge for the Norwegians. Hollywood does not have a monopoly on remakes. In this area, the Olympic Games know how to do it. Thus, this final between France and Norway will be a rematch, eight months after the one at the world championships which saw the Blues win against the Norwegians (31-28). The problem with remakes is that they sometimes disappoint…