REPLAY. France-Argentina: finally! The Blues of handball win their first success of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and still believe in the quarter-finals

Les Bleus dans un maillot original, surclassent les Argentins dans ce premier acte. CNOSF/KMSP – AGENCE KMSP

For the fourth day of group B, the French men's handball team won against Argentina this Friday, August 2, at the Arena Paris Sud 6 (28-21).

Finally a victory

Miraculously saved against Egypt with an equalizer at the end of playing time by Fabregas (26-26), the Blues have finally found the path to victory. Against Argentina, the Blues started off with a bang with a 7-0. They then managed their lead but were not calm in the middle of the second half with the return to – 3 of the Argentinians.

The attack faltered again in the second half (only 13 goals) while the defense had shone in the first (8 goals conceded). Gérard finished with 12 saves (60%) and Desbonnet 6 (32%).

A match to relive here:

12:31.

End of the match: France 28 – 21 Argentina

In a less serene second act, the Blues kept their advantage to win against Argentina who nevertheless came back to -3 in the middle of the second period.

12:29.

59e

Moscariello intercepts the ball and goes to beat Desbonnet from close range (27-21). Descat is found on his left wing and scores the last goal of the game (28-21).

12:28.

58e

Karabatic finds the frame at 6m (27-20). On the quick engagement, Fernandez is found on the left but hits the post.

12:28.

57e

Tournat is checked at 6m in pivot. Fernandez on his left wing does not tremble in front of Desbonnet (26-20).

12h27.

56e

Argentinian kung fu attempt from the right wing towards the center but Desbonnet slides well and stops it!

12h25.

55e

Tournat recovers a 7m throw after a complicated attack by the Blues. Descat scores in two stages (26-19).

12:23 p.m.

54e

New 7m throw for Argentina, Pizarro also stumbles on a great Desbonnet! Time-out requested by Guillaume Gille.

12:23.

53e

Tournat is found at the pivot position and gives the Blues some breathing room (25-19).

12:22.

52e

Mem finds space and scores from close range (24-19), he falls and holds his shoulder while screaming. Tournat's zone defense, 7m throw for Simonet who stumbles on Desbonnet.

12:20.

51e

Moscariello is found in pivot and tries the shot behind the back but it is not on target.

12:20.

50e

Tournat tears himself away from the pivot position and shoots while falling to score a new goal (23-19).

12:18.

49e

Mem sees his shot stopped again by Bar who meets him on the Argentinian side. Martinez brings Argentina back (22-19).

12:17.

48e

Simonet does not miss the opportunity to bring Argentina back to three goals (21-18). Two minutes of exclusion for Fernandez, Descat succeeds his 7m throw so that the Blues regain a little lead (22-18).

12:12.

47e

Karabatic loses the ball and Argentina can come back to three goals. Video is requested for a possible bad substitution on the Argentinian side. Two minutes of exclusion for the Argentinians with this bad substitution. Mem sees his shot stopped! The Blues do not take advantage of their numerical superiority.

12h11.

46e

Refusal to play against the Argentinians. Parker finds the fault with a costal shot that deceives Desbonnet (21-17).

12:09.

45e

Fabregas is not successful with a new shot on the post in a pivot position. Konan intercepts the ball while returning to defense but ends up in the zone with the ball.

12:09.

44e

New block from Konan. Parker finds his sights again (21-16).

12:06.

43e

Descat takes his chance at a very tight angle and stumbles on Bar. Time-out requested by Argentina. New save by Desbonnet on a shot on the wing but the ball still goes out for Argentina.

12:05.

42e

New loss of the ball in attack by Prandi, counterattack which ends with a goal by Moscariello (21-15).

12:04.

41e

Argentine kung fu with Simonet who concludes in the center (21-14). Richardson loses the ball and Desbonnet comes out to make a nice interception.

12:03.

40e

The Argentinians resumed their attack with 7 men. Parker still finds the solution (20-13). Quick engagement and Fabregas scores in the empty goal (21-13).

12:01.

39e

Prandi intercepts and fights to recover the ball. He's the one who scores from afar (20-12).

12h00.

38e

Pizarro is shifted to the left wing but Desbonnet intervenes. The ball goes into touch. Nice defensive closure by Konan and Prandi.

11:59.

37e

Prandi is doing better and finds the target 10m away with a cross shot (19-12).

11:58.

36e

Porte is shifted to his right wing and doesn't shake (18-11). Parker responds with a powerful shot from 9m (18-12).

11:58.

35e

Simonet gets the 7m throw for a foul in the zone. He scores the 7m all by himself (17-11).

11:57.

34e

Parker finds the gap and beats Desbonnet from close range (17-10). Prandi seems to be suffering from an ankle injury from contact on the previous play.

11:55.

33e

First save for Desbonnet on a shot from 6m out by Martinez. Simonet misses his pass, Descat misses his shot into the empty goal, blocked by the defender.

11:54.

32e

Parker finds space easily and beats Desbonnet (16-9). Prandi takes the outer gap again but is again blocked by Bar. Mem flies to 9m and he is precise (17-9).

11:53.

31e

Ball deflected by the French foot but the referees did not say anything. Richardson serves Porte on the right wing and Porte concludes the action (16-8).

11:50.

30e

France kicks off the second half. Desbonnet comes on for the second half. Prandi takes the outside gap but the angle is very tight and he comes up against the Argentinian goalkeeper Bar.

11:37.

Half-time: France 15 – 8 Argentina

Facing a weak opponent with no solution in attack, the Blues, well helped by a Gérard (12 saves, 60%) in Olympic form, made the difference at half-time.

11:34.

29th

Refusal to play for the Blues, Minne takes the shot but it hits the post. Pizarro's last shot was saved but Bono followed to close out the half (15-8).

11:33.

28e

Minne finds Tournat at the pivot position and he also scores his first goal (15-7). Bono misses the target while he had managed to find space to come to 6m. Timeout called by France.

11:33.

27e

Even the Argentines' 7-man attack struggles to find solutions against 6 Frenchmen. Loss of the ball on a bad pass to the pivot.

11:31.

26e

Karabatic takes the interval well and finishes at 6m (14-7). Parker tries his luck again in support but it is stopped. Gérard tries his luck in the empty goal but his shot ends up on the crossbar.

11:30.

25e

Richardson intercepts the ball but it goes out of bounds and Argentina can rebuild. Parker finally finds the solution with a powerful shot (13-7).

11:28.

24e

Minne gets another penalty and Pizarro is sent off for two minutes for pushing him in his suspension. Descat beats Bar with a chabala (13-6).

11:27.

23e

Another save from Gérard and Karabatic gets a 7m throw on the counter plus a two-minute suspension for Martinez. Descat converts it (12-6).

11:26.

22e

Moyano is found on the left wing and finds the way to the goal (11-6). Remili loses the ball.

11:25.

21e

Pizarro's shot is blocked by Konan, it's already the 3rd counter of the blue defense. Minne loses the ball on the counter.

11:24.

20e

Minne who for her first match of the competition scores her first goal (11-5).

11:23.

19e

Gérard stops another shot from Bono and launches the counterattack, Konan recovers and scores her first goal of the tournament (10-4). Simonet finds a space and comes to conclude at 6m (10-5).

11:22.

18e

Simonet in second pivot is found at 6m and deceives Gérard (9-4). Prandi makes a bad pass and gives the ball back.

11:21.

17e

Prandi loses the ball but the quick counter-attack from the Argentinians ends up directly in touch. Prandi takes the central space and with a costal shot deceives Maciel (9-3).

11:20.

16e

Remili is definitely not in good form in this tournament and sees his shot stopped by Maciel. Pizarro does not control the pass sent to him.

11:19.

15e

Pizarro is found on the right wing who deceives Gérard at the near post (8-3).

11:17.

14e

Refusal to play against France, Mem tries the schwenker but obtains a penalty. Descat deceives Maciel (8-2).

11h16.

13e

Konan gets suspended for the first two minutes for an arm in Simonet's face. Bono is checked by Gérard once again.

11:15.

12e

Refusal to play against Argentina but Moscariello is found in pivot to score a goal (7-2). Note that the Argentinians attack with 7 to find solutions.

11:14.

11e

Fabregas is found in the pivot position but his shot hits the post.

11:12.

10e

New Argentinian timeout in a nightmarish start to the match for the South Americans. First goal for the Argentinians with a shot from the left wing by Fernandez (7-1).

11:11.

9e

Moscariello is found in pivot but Gérard pulls out another huge save at 6m! Prandi takes his chance at 9m but it is stopped by Maciel.

11:10.

8e

Gérard does not let anything pass in this beginning of the game, new save on Parker! Mem flies at 9m and finds an unstoppable cross shot at the bottom (7-0)

11:09.

7e

At the end of the refusal of play Prandi crosses the field and with a shot in the back deceives the goalkeeper Maciel (5-0). Bad block from the Argentine attack and Fabregas finishes the counter alone (6-0).

11:07.

6e

Moyano takes the external interval but in a tight angle comes up against Gérard. Prandi sends a praline to the other side (4-0). 5th save by Gérard on a new shot from Fernandez.

11:05.

5th

The blue defense puts the Argentinian base in difficulty with a lot of aggression. Gérard pulls out a save on a new shot from 6m and Descat scores on the counter (3-0). Argentinian timeout in the 5th minute!

11:05.

4e

Fernandez is then launched on the counterattack but Gérard checkmates him at 6m.

11:03.

3e

Konan puts the pressure on defense and Porte recovers the bad Argentinian pass. Mem forces his shot off-center to the left but it's a pastis.

11:02.

2e

Konan sends Moyano outside the 9m! Parker is once again blocked by Fabregas. Fabregas is found alone at the pivot position and deceives the goalkeeper (2-0).

11:02.

1e

Pastis by Gérard on Simonet's shot, Descat then shifts to the left wing and scores the first goal of the game (1-0).

10:58.

0e

Argentina kicks off the match. Parker's first shot is blocked by the defense but the ball goes out for a corner.

10:55.

H – 5'

The Blues will play in a pink outfit that is, to say the least, original.

10:50.

H – 10'

The starting seven of the Blues for this meeting: Gérard, Descat, Prandi, Remili, Mem, Porte and Fabregas. Note that Lenne and Nahi, injured, are replaced in the group by Minne and Tournat

10h45.

H – 15'

In 16 official matches, France has never lost against Argentina (16 victories).

10h30.

H – 30'

Offensive efficiency will be one of the key elements of the game of the Blues, from 52% shooting success against Norway, they increased to 62% against Egypt. It will still take a little more to achieve victory.

10h15.

H – 45'

The Argentinians are in difficulty in this tournament and have also lost Diego Simonet to injury who will miss this meeting. The Montpellier center-half is injured in the adductor muscles but should be able to return for the final group match. In the event of a defeat against the Blues, the Argentines would be officially eliminated.

10h00.

H – 60'

This match against Argentina is not the Blues' last hope of qualification but it strongly resembles it. Against an opponent who has lost all of his matches and by a wide margin (31-36, 25-35, 27-38), the French team cannot afford to lose with a view to the quarter-finals. A defeat and everything would then be complicated to continue the rest of the Games.