Giza (Egypt) (AFP)
Norway, a big entry block for reconstruction: after the major failure of Euro-2020, the French men's team launches its reconquest operation against the formidable team of Sander Sagosen, Thursday (8:30 p.m.) in Cairo at the opening of a World Cup already disrupted by the Covid-19.
Forty centuries of history contemplate them.
Upon awakening, Luc Abalo, Luka Karabatic and others, who arrived Tuesday evening in the Egyptian capital, only had to look up to admire the pyramids of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence.
Their hotel is located 500 m from the tombs of the pharaohs.
"Yesterday evening, we saw them appear even in the twilight. It's already a nice welcome with this backdrop", appreciates the coach Guillaume Gille, who did not come for tourism.
For his first mission at the head of the most successful team at the Worlds (6), the former center-half of the Blues of the great era (1996-2012) wants to prove that the latter is not over.
The latest results tend to suggest it: a resounding elimination in the first round of Euro-2020, which led to the dismissal of coach Didier Dinart, another glorious former for whom Gille was the assistant, and no victory in two matches against the Serbia (27-24, 26-26) last week during a qualifying window for Euro-2022.
- Unpleasantly "surprised" -
"We are coming out of a truncated preparation", pleads Gille who started this new cycle, a year after his appointment, by finding at the last moment half of his group, previously mobilized by the Final Four of the Champions League (9 players ), the German Championship (Romain Lagarde) and the Norwegian Cup (Luc Abalo) ...
"The necessary reunion of this group", after a year of separation due to a pandemic, "did not put us in the best possible position for these two matches", underlines Gille, who admits to having been "surprised" by the poor performance of its players.
As a result, the French team begins "this world championship with a little less serenity than before the last competitions", agrees Kentin Mahé, who will be the most experienced center-half in the absence of the leader. Nikola Karabatic, victim of a rupture of a cruciate ligament.
Titled in 2017 - against Norway -, in bronze in 2019, the Blues keep "unchanged" the podium goal, according to Gille, but "humility" is required "before being able to again run for the leading roles. "
As for the players, we refute the idea of a team that has once again become winnable.
"We had a dozen players in the Final Four of the Champions League, there is no reason that we cannot do it. The elements just have to fit together," said goalkeeper Vincent Gérard.
- Norway "favorite" -
The sooner the better, as Sander Sagosen's Norway (25), perhaps the current best player in the world, is stepping forward as a main course as an entry.
"It's also good to play them right away to see where we are", believes Mahé for whom "there is no doubt, Norway is favorite".
To win this shock of the first round, Gille calls for a group "more airtight in defense, more efficient in the scoring areas" and to put "more rhythm" on the ball climbs.
A victory and the Blues would ideally launch their race to the quarter-finals.
A failure and the team of captain Michaël Guigou would no longer have the right to make mistakes during the two group stages, whether against Austria or Switzerland or then, probably, against Portugal and Iceland.
It is the theoretical program if the Covid-19, after having won the day over the Czech Republic and the United States, replaced by North Macedonia and Switzerland, leaves the other nations alone.
While Sagosen has already criticized the health measures on the spot, Gille wants to be confident in the effectiveness of the protocol, even if he knows that the risk has not disappeared.
"It is not because we are in our bubble that the Covid will leave us alone this fortnight."
On all levels, the Blues are therefore sailing on sight.
"We don't really know where we're going, we don't really know what we're stepping into, we're plunging into the unknown," said Vincent Gérard before the start.
This is also how the most beautiful adventures are born.
© 2021 AFP