False starts

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This Tuesday, several Paris Saint-Germain Handball players represented their respective national teams in the first international action of 2021 as France and Spain took on Serbia and Croatia respectively.

Serbia - France: 27-24

France were kicking off their qualification campaign for Euro 2022, the finals of which which will take place in Hungary and Slovakia. For this first Group 1 clash, Les Experts travelled to Serbia, almost a year to the day after their last official match (January 14, 2020, during the World Cup in Norway). Unfortunately, Guillaume Gille's men couldn't manage to get the better of a valiant Serbian side, chasing the game without being able to catch up - despite two goals from Nedim Remili. The duo of opposing goalkeepers - Vladimir Cupara and Dejan Milosavljev - proved an insurmountable problem for France who, deprived of Elohim Prandi (muscular problem) will have the opportunity to take revenge in Créteil on Saturday.

Croatia - Spain: 31-28
For their part, Euro 2019 champions Spain do not need to qualify for Euro 2021, and are thus preparing for the World Cup in Egypt in January by playing Euro 2022 qualifiers. After falling to defeat against Hungary in November, Viran Morros, Ferran Solé Sala and their compatriots were out to bounce back but fell short of the mark against Croatia in Porec. In spite of a strong start (2' : 0-2), the Spaniards never really took the upper hand and ended up losing by three goals. On Saturday, in Madrid, they will try to clinch their first points of this mini-tournament, once again against Croatia.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)