The Swedish handball team will fight again, twenty years later, for gold in a World Cup, after certifying their qualification for the Egypt final on Friday by beating France 26-32 in the first of the semifinal matches.

A triumph that rewarded the clarity of ideas of the Scandinavian team, who, unlike the French team, had clear what to do on the track at all times.

Beyond the significant casualties of pivot Ludovic Fabregas and full-back Timothey N'Guessan, which weakened the defensive strength of the French team, Guillaume Gille's men were again victims of the same problems, goalkeeping and the absence of a game director , the same problems that already condemned them to fall to the first of change in the last European.

And it is that despite some other good connection with the pivots, the central Kentin Mahe was unable to provide the slightest fluidity to the offensive game of the French team.

But if in attack, France never managed to find the rhythm to overcome, with the exception of the occasional whiplash from Nedim Remili or Dika Mem, to overcome the solid defensive network of the Swedish team, behind they completely succumbed to the lack of effectiveness of their goalkeepers.

And is that if Vincent Gerard left the track at twenty minutes without making a single stop, his replacement Yann Genty, could only sign an intervention before reaching the break.

Numbers that contrasted with those of Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Palicka, who stopped up to seven balls, some with unlikely stops, in the first thirty minutes of play.

Saves that allowed Sweden to exploit their fast counterattack game, with wingers Daniel Pettersson and Hampus Wanne leading the way.

But the big difference between the French and the Swedes was in the direction of play, since if France had to end up resorting to a gunner like Remili to direct its attack, Sweden always had a clear idea of ​​what to do with the clever Jim Gottfridsson.

The Swedish central defender always found a way to generate space for his wings, especially left-handers Lukas Sandell and Albin Lagergren, taking advantage of the movements of the wingers along the six-meter line.

A circumstance that allowed Sweden to reach at 21 minutes of play a more than interesting income of four goals (8-12), which France could barely reduce (13-16) at the end of the first half.

Nor did he succeed, despite the fact that Genty signed more stops in the first five minutes of the second period, two, than in the entire first half, given the inability of the French team to give meaning to their offensive game, which at times was reduced to Remili's onslaught.

Little argument to counteract the choral game of the Scandinavians, who under the baton of Gottfridsson, further expanded their advantage (18-23).

If in the first half Sweden took advantage of the spaces generated by its exteriors to take advantage of the capacity of its sides, in the second it found its way in the openings to the ends, where Pettersson and Wanne showed the same effectiveness as in the race.

Goals that allowed the Swedish team to reach the last eleven minutes of play with an income of five goals (21-26), which placed those of the Norwegian Glenn Solberg one step away from the grand final.

A step that tried to delay the French winger Hugo Descat, the only member of the French team who seemed to rebel against defeat, but not even the efforts of the outside could prevent the triumph of Sweden, which definitively sentenced the contest with a spectacular recovery of the ball by Gottfridsso just over three minutes to go.

Time that the Scandinavians, who had not disputed the final of a World Cup since 2001, when they fell precisely to France in Paris, took the opportunity to round off their victory, further extending their advantage, as reflected in the 26-32 final.

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