France

Statements after the final

Karolina Berg — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:46:54 +0000

Ulrik Wilbek, Danish coach: We played a fantastic tournament, and we had no defeat in normal playing time. We lost a final against the best team of the world and we proved we are on the same level as France. We were unlucky in the beginning when pour left handed player Kasper Söndergaard was injured. But we came back every time and equalized the French lead often. We are very close to France. If we would have led in the 60 first minutes it might be in a different way. France has the more experienced team – but I hope that both teams meet in more finals in future. We are proud of a fantastic tournament.

Anders Eggert, Danish player: We are very disappointed at the moment, but we will realize that we played a great tournament – and we will be back in future.

It’s France again!

Karolina Berg — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:15:36 +0000

It was most thrilling World Championships final since decades – and in the end France defended their title. The Frenchmen beat Denmark 37:35 after extra time in an incredible tensioned fight for Gold. For France it was the fourth WCh title after 1995, 2011 and 2009.

Final: France – Denmark 37:35 (31:31, 15:12)

They danced over the field after 70 highly intense minutes – and then the French players were handed over the Gold medals and the trophy in the confetti rain of Malmö. On the other hand the Danes were absolutely disappointed as they were on eye level and so close to their first ever WCh title. But they received a great applause from their supporters and Crown Prince Frederic, who attended the match – and the Silver medals.

France is not only the only team which defended their title since 1974, but they’re now already qualified for the Olympics 2012 and the World Championship 2013 in Spain.

Semifinals finalized: Sweden vs. France, Denmark vs. Spain

Karolina Berg — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:38:53 +0000

The last two matches of both Main Round groups had to decide the constellation in the semi-finals: And as Denmark beat Sweden they ranked first in group II and meet Spain in the semi-final on Friday on 28 January (20:30) in Kristianstad. France won the group I by their seventh victory against Iceland and will play against host Sweden (18:00) in Malmö on Friday. Spain and France are equal in points, but France have the better goal difference and rank ahead the Iberians. Denmark is the only team with eight victories in eight matches and lead the final ranking with 10:0 points ahead of Sweden (6:4). Aside Serbia beat Argentina and play for the places 9/10 against Norway. The Gauchos will meet Germany in the 11/12 placement match.

Semi-finals:
Sweden – France (Friday, 28.01, 18.00 in Malmö)
Denmark – Spain (Friday, 28.01, 20.30 in Kristianstad)

France complete semi-finals

Karolina Berg — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:20:19 +0000

All four semi-finalists are known, but the composition has not been decided yet: Like Denmark, Spain and Sweden before France has reached the round of the last four teams after their 31:26 victory against Norway. If the French team will finish first or second in Group I will be decided on Tuesday, same as the constellation of Sweden and Denmark in their direct duel. Before the final Match Day of the Main Round France and Spain are equal in points (7:1).

Group I: France –Norway 31:26 (17:14)

Denmark one small step away from semi-finals

Karolina Berg — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:34:09 +0000

The favoured teams have made their way in the evening Main Round games of Match Day 1. Denmark took a close and thrilling victory against Poland, as France overran Hungary. Both teams took the lead in their group remaining unbeaten. For Denmark it was the sixth straight victory.

Group I:

After the first Match Day France and Spain (each 5:1 points) lead the ranking ahead of Iceland (4:2), Germany, Hungary (each 2:4) and Norway (0:6).

France – Hungary 37:24 (18:13)

Thrilling draw in the final duel of group A

Karolina Berg — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:25:53 +0000

France and Spain tied in a high tensioned final match of group A. So everything is decided concerning the Main Round after 60 matches of the Preliminary Round. Iceland and Denmark are the only teams taking 4:0 points to the next stage. The starting composition is like this:

Group I in Jönköping:

Iceland 4 points, France 3 points, Spain 3 points, Hungary 2 points, Germany 0 points, Norway 0 points.

Group II in Malmö/Lund:

Denmark 4 points, Sweden 2 points, Poland 2 points, Argentina 2 points, Croatia 1 point, Serbia 1 point

Group A:

France – Spain 28:28 (18:13)

France win World Champion’s duel, no winner in Balkan clash

Karolina Berg — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:43:21 +0000

As Croatia gave their first point from their hands after a thrilling draw against neighbor Serbia, France dismantled the German team with their fourth victory. Tunisia took their first points against Bahrain.

Group A:

Germany – France 23:30 (10:13)

France and Croatia in the Main Round

Karolina Berg — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:35:29 +0000

Like Croatia in Group C before, France have already qualified for the Main Round in Group A after their clear (and third) victory over Bahrain. Host Sweden (against Korea), Iceland (against Japan) and Denmark (against Serbia) made huge steps to the Main Round after their each third victory, as they each only need one more point now. Norway have beaten Austria, as Egypt took their first points in the Northern African duel against Tunisia.

Group A:

Tunisia – Egypt 23:27 (10:11)

Third match day ends with “business as usual” – victories for France, Croatia and Denmark

Karolina Berg — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:11:47 +0000

Easy matches for the favourites, no chances for the outsiders: As the three medal contenders France, Denmark and Croatia remain spotless after two matches, Romania, Egypt and Algeria still wait for their first points.

Group A:

Egypt – France 19:28 (8:12)

Going for Gold again – France before the final against Denmark

Karolina Berg — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:10:39 +0000

They continued their story: France played their sixth World Championship semi-final in a row – and they reached the WCh final in total for the fifth time in history. After winning Silver in 1993 they won all the finals they played in 1995, 2001 and 2009. France has the great chance to become the first team since 1974 (Romania) to defend their title at a World Championship. And they could remain the only team with all three major titles in the world of handball – EURO, Olympics and World Championships – at the same time.

In Sweden the team of coach Claude Onesta is still unbeaten – they only tied in their last match of the Preliminary Round against Spain. Their squad can count on three former World Handball Players of the Year – Bertrand Gille, Nikola Karabatic and Thierry Omeyer.

Statements after the first semi-final

Karolina Berg — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:34:05 +0000

Ola Lindgren, Swedish coach: We had hoped to reach the final, but we didn’t reach our normal level, played with too less speed, and didn’t score enough easy goals. France deserved to win.

Johan Sjöstrand, Swedish goalkeeper: I didn’t have a good day and couldn’t help my team that much.

Mattias Gustafsson, Swedish player: We were not strong enough to bring France to the ground.

Claude Onesta, French coach: It is a great satisfaction to have won this difficult game against the host of the World Championship. We played well after a weak start. The audience was great and I also have to thank the Swedish team for a great match. If we meet Denmark in the final, it would be the first time ever that we would have to play against two home teams.

Unstoppable Frenchmen in the final

Karolina Berg — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:43:20 +0000

They were shaken in the final stage of the game, but in the end France stood tall and took a deserved 29:26 victory against host Sweden in the first semi-final. For France it is the fourth straight final in a major tournament since 2008 – Olympics 2008, WCh 2009, EURO 2010 – and they won all those three finals before. If they take the trophy on Sunday they are the first team to defend a WCh title since 1974, when Romania took the trophy like in 1970. Sweden was a strong opponent in the semi of Malmö, but they lacked individual class against the experienced French team and will play for the Bronze medal on Sunday. The Swedish and French opponent will be decided in the second semi in Kristianstad.

Semi-final 1: France – Sweden 29:26 (15:12)