Place in the last four of the Women’s Handball World Cup in Spain. The Blue, qualified after their victory in the quarterfinals against the Swedes, must get rid of another Scandinavian team, Denmark, for a place in the final, Friday, December 17 (5.30 p.m.). A tantalizing shock between two teams which have so far performed very convincing.
Disputed confrontations
The two formations meet regularly. “We know them by heart”, even indicated the pivot Béatrice Edwige, Wednesday, December 16. In 66 games played, France has won 29 times, lost 33 games and drawn 5 against Denmark. If in accounting terms, the Danes are doing better historically, the French have more often dominated the Nordic opponent in the past three years, with six wins for two losses in the last eight meetings.
The Scandinavians have a significant advantage at this stage of the competition: an additional day of recovery. The team is also fresher, because it did not play in the Olympic Games this summer, unlike the Blue, crowned Olympic champions in Tokyo, who have chained competitions and qualifying matches since August.
Direction the semi-finals.
Thank you all for your support, we continue to dream of the double.RDV Friday 5:30 p.m. against Denmark
@kolektiffimages & Takaproduction#blue and proud #SheLovesHandball @FRAHandball pic.twitter.com/kgUppECIfa– Allison Pineau (@PineauAllison) December 15, 2021
The Danish conquerors in Spain
Like the Habs, the Danes performed flawlessly in this tournament. The Nordiques even torpedoed many opponents, winning some matches with impressive goal differences: +16 against Germany, +15 against the Czech Republic or even +11 against Hungary. To explain these large victories, we must in particular look at the side of the Danish goalkeepers, Althea Rebecca Reinhardt and Sandra Toft. The two doors are the strongest of the tournament, with respectively 56% and 45% of shots saved.
Denmark are unbeatable when she has her day 17 saves at 40% for Sandra Toft in the first # Spain2021 quarter-final #sheloveshandball @dhf_haandbold pic.twitter.com/LDDJeBGyvF
– International Handball Federation (@ihf_info) December 14, 2021
The Danes, who defeated Brazil in the quarterfinals (30-25), have been waiting for eight years to get back on an international podium. While their last international semi-final dates back to 2013, the determination of Jesper Jansen’s players is all the more important as they failed at the foot of the podium, at home, during their last major competition (Euro 2020). .
Defensive strength and turnover among the Habs
Les Bleues gained momentum throughout the tournament. After a somewhat sluggish start in attack in the first games, they performed imperiously against the Russian Olympic vice-champions in the last match of the main round, before showing their dominance in the second half of the quarter against Sweden. The Habs have particularly distinguished themselves in defense, showing impressive collective strength.
Another major asset of the France team: the quality of its bench, one of the best at the World Cup. The performances of Alicia Toublanc and Lucie Granier, for their first major international meeting with the Blue, proved the coach right, who does not hesitate to turn his workforce.
For his very first @SheLOVsHandball :
4 games played
goals scored (66.6% efficiency)Technical, spectacular, Lucie Granier treats us!
We (re) discover his Roucoulette technique!
https://t.co/F3G1VOUvcs#SheLovesHandball @FRAHandball @LBE_Officiel pic.twitter.com/kaAFMx54ds
– Sport in France (@sport_en_france) December 10, 2021
The reigning Olympic champions have shown consistency since the 2016 Games: out of eight possible semi-finals (Olympic Games, Euro and World Cup combined), they have reached this stage of the competition on seven occasions (apart from the 2019 World Cup, during which they did not reach the main round by stumbling in the last meeting of the preliminary phase against … Denmark) and left six times with a medal around their neck.