It is without their captain Luka Karabatic suffering from the back nor the taulier Valentin Porte (muscular discomfort) remained in the stands that the Blues started this Wednesday the World Cup in Poland against the host country. In front of 11,500 Polish fans entranced in the Spodek (the saucer) in Katowice, the competition could have started with better news. For the occasion, Nikola Karabatic donned the captain’s armband of the Blues, a rarity in his astounding career.
To launch their World Cup in the best possible way, the Olympic champions needed to warm up. The Poles, who are aiming for a place in the quarter-finals of “their” World Championship, resisted (7-7, 14th). With a Vincent Gérard in his goal and a big defense on the wall, the borrowed Blues seemed to take off little by little. Only, the Poles have never won (14-13, 30th). They even remained a real threat all the time (21-21, 48th). It was Dika Mem, the Barcelonian, who saved the Blues from a bad step by sounding the revolt in the middle of the second period.
At the end of the game, the French regained their momentum, their ardor and their combativeness to win 26-24. “We are happy because there is always nervousness in the first game of a competition, especially against the host country. It was complicated but in the important moments, we found the right solutions. We know that we can and that we must play better but it’s a good start, ”reacted Nikola Karabatic at the microphone of BeINSport.
With this difficult success from the outset, France is already (almost) qualified for the second round. They will face Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Slovenia on Monday. Just avoid the last place in the group of four to continue the adventure. We do not see how the Olympic champions could lose their next two games.