2023-07-19 21:12:06
The France team will not achieve the double. Defending champions, the Blues fell this Wednesday against the United States in five sets (21-25, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24, 9-15) during the quarter-finals of the League of Nations, this Wednesday in Gdansk (Poland). If they had won this competition last year in Bologna (Italy) by beating the Americans in the final, they had lost against them in the preliminary round this year.
The Tokyo Olympic champions in 2021 had won this summer event – then called the World League – in 2015 and 2017.
The absence of Earvin Ngapeth, still injured in a knee, was felt during this event during which the French had only qualified for the Final 8 thanks to a victory against Germany on the last day.
A little lost in the first set, the French team clings to the second by managing to take the advantage (10-12), while changing tactics to favor floating services. But their rivals assert their domination (18-25). The third round smiled on the Habs who avoided elimination in three dry sets. In the fourth set, they took off thanks to the counterattacks of Barthélémy Chinenyeze and a service at 122 km/h from Jean Patry. The Americans save two bullets at 22-24, but a block from Antoine Brizard allows the Blues to still believe it. Before losing in the tie-break on a failed service from Quentin Jouffroy.
Place now at the Euro from August 28 to September 16.
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