Handball: against Germany, a wind of renewal blows on the blue after the euro

At the Hand of Hand in Créteil (94) this Monday for the first back -to -school training for Blue three months after a disappointing euro (4th), there were a lot of new heads. And especially missing. Due to injuries or to let a few girls breathe a little, Sébastien Gardillou the coach goes by a few executives for this international end of winter window.

Starting with Captain Estelle Nze Minko who, despite a time of reflection, has not yet said goodbye to the French team. She will come back. In her absence, it was the guardian Laura Glauser who inherits the armband for the first time. Tamara Horacek, thanks to Zaadi or Sarah Bouktit also lack the call, among others.

For the double confrontation against the Germans this Thursday across the Rhine (6.30 p.m. in Trier on the Luxembourg border) then Saturday in Besançon (6 pm) for a remake of the quarter-final of the Games (26-23), the new boss of the Bleues therefore rejuvenated his troops. His usual group was rinsed from the world sequence – OJ – Euro between December 2023 and December 2024.

“Insousance and daring”

Four girls world champion with the U20 last year integrate the group for the occasion: Lilou Pintat (Dijon), Nina Dury (Dijon), Lylou Borg (Mérignac) and Manon Errard (Metz). Names that we will have to start knowing. The goal is to see them at work in the main bath. “I wait for them to take pleasure in joining us and bring us carefree and audacity that we missed during the Euro. I want us to discover new talents at this level, ”says Gardillou.

In the mind of the coach, the road leading to the Los Angeles Games in three years is starting now. It is therefore not too early to review the troops. “The idea is not to build a team from now on with Sébastien Gardillou’s paw. What we can say is, on the other hand, is that we start a start for generation tilting, clearly yes ”.

In this spirit, there are surely girls who participated in the last conquests who will no longer return. “If we do not project ourselves with the objective of 2028, we have to give playing time to new players to win stages and are ultimately as efficient as possible,” projects the boss. The strength of things with injuries makes me do it a little steep and faster than expected but it remains a necessity. I take this international window against Germany, which promises to be very competitive, as a real evaluation test of the French team ”.