The opponents of the Blues in the main round of the Euro are now known after the last matches of the preliminary round played on Tuesday evening: Netherlands, Iceland, Montenegro and Denmark will stand on the road to the semi-finals of the Euro, the 28 January in Budapest for the French.
Guillaume Gille’s men, who have so far been faultless (victory against Croatia, Ukraine and Serbia) and impress after a chaotic preparation, will have to finish in one of the first two places in a group where they will therefore find the Danes, dominated in the final of the Tokyo Olympics five years after the defeat in Rio in 2016. This France-Denmark, looking like a final before the hour, will take place on the last day of this main round , January 26.
Without Konan against the Netherlands
Iceland and the Netherlands therefore validated their qualification for the main round of the Euro on Tuesday. The Hungarians, host country, were beaten by a small goal by the Icelanders (31-30), who finished first in group B. A cruel defeat for the locals who nevertheless celebrated the event one last time with their public in singing the national anthem.
The surprising Netherlands (32-31), which won a final victory against Portugal, finished second and will meet France on Thursday. It will be without tricolor defender Karl Konan, revelation at the start of the tournament, who tested positive for Covid on Tuesday and will have to remain isolated for at least five days. He is replaced by Théo Monar.
The Germans were not spared either, affected by eight cases of Covid, including key elements of the Nationalmannschaft (Julius Kühn, Kai Häfner, Timo Kastening, or Andreas Wolff). A situation that made the former 2007 world champion Christian Schwarzer cringe, for whom the tournament “is turning into a farce”. “It would be frustrating and ultimately bad for our sport if, in the end, the European champions were the team that had the fewest cases of Covid,” he lamented. The situation did not prevent Germany from winning against Poland and thus securing first place.
The Blues program:
- Thursday 20 January: France – Netherlands
- Saturday 22 January: France – Iceland
- Monday January 24: France – Montenegro
- Wednesday January 26: France – Denmark