Herning (Denmark) (AFP)
A medal "can also give us balm in the heart, with this year which has been difficult", explains Pauline Coatanéa, right winger of the French handball team which faces Croatia in the semi-finals of Euro-2020 in Herning (Denmark), Friday.
Q: What conclusions do you draw before facing Croatia for a place in the Euro-2020 final?
A: "It's already a reward to reach this last four. It's our strength of character that makes me proud, the fact of having sought each victory, it made the group grow in strength. There, we feel that we want more. It's really good to know that we still have resources, that we can progress in several sectors. Each player brings small touches on each match. It shows that everyone everyone is involved and that we use the whole group. It's really important to see it through to the end. "
Q: How strong is this team, who kept their composure in every close game?
A: "We work a lot on video, we put tactics in place. And when we are in difficulty on the ground, we look for solutions. We feel that the relations are stronger and stronger between us. It gives us a a certain serenity which allows us to approach this last square in the right way, in the sense that we have certainties. We have the weapons to fight a 60-minute battle. "
Q: You seem to be in control of your subject, without worrying about opponents ...
A: "There is so much work in our days, it goes really fast. We put all the chances on our side so that the group lives well, that it feels good on the field or off. We really start to to be rewarded. Now it's the best moments to live that arrives, a semi-final and maybe more. It's a weekend in which we have to be rewarded for all the work done over the past three weeks. "
Q: So you didn't have too much time to kill, despite the conditions imposed, including the ban on leaving the hotel, to keep the sanitary bubble?
A: “In the end, there was only the three days between Russia and Sweden, where we had a little more time to think about the things that we miss, our loved ones, the family. But the fact that l 'we share all that between us, it gave us strength. We say to ourselves that it is the home stretch. If behind, we have a good medal, that will be the reward. And it can also give us balm in the heart, with this year which has been difficult for us, with the Covid-19 pandemic which prevents us from finishing the championship, which shifts the Olympic Games. To have a medal at the end of this year, that would be really great for the finish. We all want to take something home. "
Interview by Thomas BACH by phone
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