If the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA was not completely full by the time Zharko Peshevski threw off, it did not prevent both sides from giving the spectators an excellent show and a nice game of handball. North Macedonia gave their opponents a run for their money, slowing the game’s pace as much as they could to balance France’s fastbreak antics.
It was not until the second half that France really took a grip on the game, with Dika Mem and Hugo Descat being the main offensive assets for the EHF EURO 2014 winners. The latter was voted as the Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos, by fans.
GROUP A
France vs North Macedonia 39:29 (17:13)
- both teams displayed completely different tactics in the first moments of the game but neither took the upper hand, as France often scored within three passes while North Macedonia let their attacks last longer
- finding easily Zharko Peshevski on the line player position, North Macedonia took the first two-goal advantage in the 15th minute, even failing to make it three a couple of seconds later
- a wisely-timed timeout by Guillaume Gille put his team back on the right track, as France only conceded one goal within 10 minutes to return to the dressing-room leading by four
- France firmly but slowly increased their advantage on the scoreboard in the second half, with Dylan Nahi and Dika Mem playing a key role, respectively scoring six and seven
- Player of the Match, sponsored by Grundfos, was awarded to France’s Hugo Descat, who scored seven times
A timeout that changed things around for France
The first 15 minutes of the game saw France being shaken by their opponents. Kiril Lazarov had a plan, for his team to wait as long as needed to find an offensive solution, and it worked, with North Macedonia missing the opportunity to lead by three at the 15th minute.
Right after, France coach Guillaume Gille took a timeout, and the momentum went from one team to another within a few minutes. With Hugo Descat and Dika Mem playing as fast as they could, France took the lead, never to be seen again.
Photos © Anze Malorvh & Uros Hocevar / kolektiff
You saw how average our first half was, we could have done better. Our defence took 15 minutes to get working, but once we discussed it in the timeout it was much better. We helped our goalkeepers as well, so they could make easy saves and give us the upper hand.
We started really well, we were able to defend great and to score goals following the plan that we had set. Sadly, we missed the opportunity to take a three-goal lead and made too many mistakes afterwards. And when you make mistakes against such a strong team, then you pay if full price.
