The opportunity to mark the history of their sport a little more was a good one for Coralie Lassource's teammates.

They had the opportunity to achieve a very rare international double in the space of just over four months, after winning Olympic gold in Tokyo by beating Russia in the final.

But to imitate the Danes (1996) and the Norwegians (2008), the only ones who have achieved such a feat in the past (at the time, it was a JO-Euro double), they will unfortunately need try their luck again.

The Norwegian center-back Stine Bredal Oftedal infiltrates the middle of the French Méline Nocandy and Béatrice Edwige, during the 2021 Worlds final, on December 19, 2021 in Granolloers (Spain) Pau BARRENA AFP

The scenario of the final will leave eternal regrets to the players of Olivier Krumbholz, because they achieved an almost perfect first part of the match.

The joy of the French right winger Lucie Granier, after a goal scored against Norway, during the final of the World Cup-2021, on December 19, 2021 in Granollers (Spain) Pau BARRENA AFP

Almost only, because after leading 16-10 (28th), they messed up their end of half: a temporary exclusion for Méline Nocandy, a lack of change for Lucie Granier, a time-out while Laura Flippes went to register the 17-10, and a big fault of Estelle Nze Minko.

These errors allowed Norway to regain hope (16-12, 30th).

And the return of the locker room was fatal to the Blue who conceded a 7-2 impossible to reverse.

The joy of the Norwegian handball players, after their victory, 29-22 against France, in the final of the World-2021, December 19, 2021 in Granollers (Spain) Pau BARRENA AFP

Finishing a tournament on a setback always leaves a taste of unfinished business, when gold seemed close at hand.

The defeat against Norway should not, however, make us forget the extraordinary series of the French women in recent years.

Seven out of eight possible medals

Aside from the failure of the World Cup-2019 in Japan (elimination from the first round), Olivier Krumbholz's players have always reached the last four since the Rio Games in 2016. They brought back seven medals out of eight possible, have won hoisted six times in the final and won three titles (World-2017, Euro-2018 and Tokyo Games in 2021).

Even the "Experts", their male counterparts who dominated the male hand planet from 2008 to 2017, had not experienced such regularity.

The gang at Nikola Karabatic had climbed "only" on six podiums, however all of them gold, in the first eight competitions of their absolute reign.

With twelve of the sixteen Olympic champions (Amandine Leynaud, Alexandra Lacrabère and Blandine Dancette have retired, Pauline Coatanea was not retained), the Blue arrived in Spain without fear of a generational gap.

Over the meetings in recent years, the transition has been made naturally, by successive touches, like the integration of pivot Pauletta Foppa (21 years old in three days), or center-half Méline Nocandy.

And the executives Béatrice Edwige, Allison Pineau, Estelle Nze Minko, or Grâce Zaadi, have pushed this collective upwards.

The latter was the conductor of the French attack, also doing a lot of work in defense.

But they lacked juice in the final against Norway.

The joy of center-back Allison Pineau, after a goal scored against Norway, during the final of the World-2021, December 19, 2021 in Granollers (Spain) Pau BARRENA AFP

This World-2021 was only supposed to be the first of three stages which should lead the French to the Olympic Games at home in 2024 (in the huge Pierre-Mauroy stadium with 27,000 seats in Lille).

But despite the physical and psychological fatigue resulting from the coronation in Tokyo, they found the resources to reach the final once again.

© 2021 AFP