Les Bleus kick off with a win
Wednesday evening marked the start of the 2023 World Cup in Poland and Sweden. France, with three Parisians - Mathieu Grébille, Nikola Karabatic and Elohim Prandi - on duty, took part in the opening match and won against the Poles (26-24).
Spurred on by a sold-out arena in Spodek, the host country posed many difficulties for the Frenchmen, who were without France and PSG captain Luka Karabatic. But the other Parisians were there, notably Mathieu Grébille, who managed to find the net twice. At the break, Nikola Karabatic and his partners were ahead by one point (30': 14-13).
MI-TEMPS : 🇫🇷 14 - 13 🇵🇱
— Equipes de France de Handball (@FRAHandball) January 11, 2023
C'est la pause en Pologne et les BLEUS sont devant 🔥
Il faut confirmer cette bonne dynamique en 2e période ⚡#BleuetFier pic.twitter.com/PgMBXPEkmd
However, victory was still a long way off for Les Bleus, who had to battle once again in the second term (48': 21-21). After a more controlled ending to the game, France took the lead and held onto it until the final buzzer, thus starting World Cup with a win. They will have to back this victory up on Saturday, against Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday evening, two other Paris Saint-Germain Handball representatives will be on the court: Andreas Palicka's Sweden (co-hosts) will face Brazil, while Ferran Solé Sala and Spain face Montenegro. Finally, Luc Steins (Netherlands) will start his campaign on Friday, against Argentina.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
(Crédits : FFHandball)