Tallinn (AFP)

With three wins in three matches played and a first test won with a hard fight against Germany three sets to one, the French volleyball players continued their journey without fail, qualifying in the process for the knockout stages of Euro-2021.

Encouraged by a small colony of French supporters again coming in numbers on Monday among the 825 spectators of the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, on the shores of the Baltic, the Blues, in red for the occasion, had to tear themselves away from Germans who had things to do with this French team who had denied them access to the boarding gate for the Tokyo Games in the final of the qualifying tournament in January 2020.

“Germany turned their players around, starting the game with a super young team that bumped into us. We struggled to adapt, but the important thing is to win when you play less well. That's what we did, it remains positive, "said Earvin Ngapeth after the meeting.

For this first, and very probably unique, shock of the 1st round of Group D in Tallinn, the French squandered a four-point lead (23-19) in the first set to afford a tight end of the round (five balls of set) before entering the game the young pointed Théo Faure (22 years old on October 12), transformed for this match into "Ace of aces" (4 in total), by chaining two points on his service allowing to gain the gain of the set.

- First place in sight -

German libero Anton Brehme in black faces Frenchman Nicolas Le Goff in red during the France - Germany volleyball match on September 6, 2021 in Tallinn, Estonia.

RAIGO PAJULA AFP

Faced with a team of the caliber of Germany, even deprived of its "Bomber" Georg Grozer, back in selection after 18 months of hiatus but left on the bench on Monday, the Blues experienced a big air gap at the start second round, failing at the reception against the power of the services of Moritz Karlitzer and Linus Webber, respectively 20 and 27 points in the game.

In a very quickly badly embarked round (13-3), the French were penalized twice in a row for a rotation fault, causing the annoyance of the players and the staff.

The French then resumed their march forward, not without being scared, or without a few moments of tension, especially at the end of the third round won 25-22.

Even led in the fourth set (17-15), they managed to tighten the game thanks to Faure's service, to avoid the tie break.

"We can not always win and play well. It's a European Championship that will be very long. We will retain the result tonight," added Ngapeth, top scorer for the Olympic champions Monday night with 21 points.

Bernardinho's players now have a royal road to finish in first place in their group D of the first round.

After a day's break on Tuesday, the French will meet Tallinn's Saku Suurhall on Wednesday (7 p.m.) against Latvia, before finishing this first phase against host country Estonia on Thursday (7 p.m.).

© 2021 AFP