Tokyo (AFP)
French volleyball players, dominated by Argentina 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-25, 15-13) on Wednesday at Ariake Arena, find themselves on the verge of elimination at the Games from Tokyo where they were aiming for a first Olympic medal.
This loss to a direct competitor in qualifying condemns them to a feat against Russia on Friday or Brazil on Sunday to rank among the top four in their group of six and see the quarter-finals.
In Rio in 2016, two first-round victories were not enough for Earvin Ngapeth's side, who lost in their last first-round match against Brazil, already.
Laurent Tillie's players, who have only one victory, against Tunisia, after three matches, displayed great excitement on Wednesday, like the service missed by Ngapeth in the tie-break.
Sign of the tension in the room, in what looked like a round of 16, the French bench tried to mobilize its players on the field by clappings at the end of the match, without much effect.
These same Argentines had already put in difficulty Thursday the reigning Brazilian Olympic champions Monday, co-favorites of the tournament with Poland.
Albiceleste even led 2-1 and 17-11 in the fourth set before losing in the tie-break.
Argentina is not yet ahead of the French in the standings but it faces Tunisia on Sunday, the most affordable team in the group, the one which has yet to count any victory.
© 2021 AFP