Berlin (AFP)

French volleyball players no longer have the right to make mistakes: defeated on Monday 3-2 by Bulgaria for their second match of the Olympic qualification tournament in Berlin, they will absolutely have to beat the Netherlands on Wednesday to continue dreaming.

In the aftermath of their brilliant victory against the Serbian favorites, the Blues probably lacked freshness against a Bulgaria who offered them a tough physical fight. But the tie-break defeat (25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8) gave them a precious point in the race to qualify for the semi-finals on Thursday.

"We are alive thanks to the two sets that we tore off, it was really very very important," said coach Laurent Tillie, "we have a match to continue dreaming at the Games, and we have almost 48 hours to rest well and recharge the batteries. "

To be sure to pass without depending on the results of the other teams, the Habs will have to dominate Holland on Wednesday evening (8:45 pm) by losing a set as much as possible.

The tournament in the German capital delivers the last European ticket for the Tokyo Olympics, with strong competition, in particular Serbia, European champion in title in the group of France, and Germany and Slovenia in the other group.

- "A good point of catch" -

"We are disappointed because we could have half validated the qualification for the semi finals", admitted Barthélémy Chinenyeze, "there it will be more complicated, the next match will be a cleaver match, but it's downright playable , we are always motivated and we will do it. "

His teammate Jean Patry, who remarkably made up for the crucial point of sharp Stephen Boyer, absent for personal reasons, even wanted to see reasons for satisfaction in this defeat: "It was a big fight, we expected it, but it is a good point that is taken, we have not let go, "said the 23-year-old player, again the best scorer of his team (20 points)," I prefer to be positive, we entered the competition saying that we had nothing to lose, we have no pressure to put on, we must be happy with what we have done, while knowing that there are things to improve ".

Against Bulgaria, the French alternated hot and cold, achieving some good series before conceding others. The reception, usually the strong point of the Blues, was undermined by the Bulgarian power.

- "... really lucky" -

"We started off badly because physically we saw Bulgaria at its true level with a lot of power, a big service and a big attack which we could not contain," explained Laurent Tillie, "we were a little blunt, we lacked aggressiveness, we are really lucky to have won two sets ".

Arrived less in Berlin with the absences of Thibault Rossard, Trevor Clevenot (injured) and Stephen Boyer, the French also suffered from a rotation limited by injuries, since Julien Lyneel could only return sporadically and the central Kevin Le Roux did not play.

The pointed Bulgarian Tsvetan Sokolov, whom Laurent Tillie's men had managed to control during the European Championship three months ago (French victory 3 sets to 0 in group stage), was the man of the match (23 points ), being the most decisive in the important moments of the meeting, and in particular the tie break.

But the Blues, 2015 European champions in Bulgaria, can still aim for a second consecutive qualification at the Olympic Games, after Rio-2016.

© 2020 AFP