Paris (AFP)

A big performance for a return: the French volleyball players won against Bulgaria 3 sets to 2 (25-20, 13-25, 25-15, 19-25, 15-13) for their first match at the European Championship in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday.

The French, 39th in the world rankings, come to Turkey with a very young team (half of the workforce is 22 years old or younger) and rediscover the Euro after six years of absence.

Friday, they offered the scalp of Bulgaria, 16th world nation and participated in the recent League of Nations, the first international division when the French were confined to the Golden League of the European Federation (CEV), the 3rd division .

With this first success, the Bleues open the way to the 8th finals of the continental competition.

On Saturday (1:30 pm) they will face Greece, the most accessible team in the pool with Finland, while Serbia, the reigning European and world champion, and Turkey, bronze medalist at Euro-2017 , seem inaccessible.

Worn by sharp Alexandra Dascalu and forward Helena Cazaute, they won the first and third sets, forcing Bulgaria, 9th in the last Euro two years ago, to pull out to go to a fifth set.

In the tie break, the French collective broke away from the start (8-4) thanks to the attacks of the young Cazaute (21), but shook to the end, missing two match points at 14-11, before concluding 15-13 on a new attack from the player of Mulhouse and an opposing block.

© 2019 AFP