IHF | Sturdy France use defence to wrap up big win against Serbia

Nevertheless, Serbia, which are renowned for their fighting spirit, delivered a fantastic start of the match, leading by three goals, 5:2, after only 11 minutes, as France’s attack simply made too many mistakes, with Serbia’s goalkeeper, Teodora Vranic, being absolutely superb between the posts, with five saves and a 71% saving efficiency.

However, could Serbia sustain that type of play throughout the whole match? The answer came relatively fast, as France cleaned up their act, became more efficient on both sides of the ball and used a 4:1 run to take the lead for the first time, despite a team time-out called by Serbia’s coach, Slavko Krnjajac.

In fact, Serbia scored only three times in the last 13 minutes of the first half, while France used a 4:0 run to end the first part of the match, delivering a fantastic finish, with a four-goal lead at the break, 14:10, as their defence was nothing short of special, exactly the type of defence used by France to win matches at all levels.

That run morphed into a 6:0 one in the second half, as Serbia failed to score for more than eight minutes, which was their undoing. That run became the backbone of France’s win, which constantly changed their players in the second half, including the goalkeeper, as this seems to be the plan for coach Eric Baradat throughout the whole competition so far.

Any attempt made by Serbia to come back ended in France’s sturdy defence, which delivered ball after ball for the pacy fast breaks, with France punishing their opponents six times from seven attempts via these situations, prompting Serbia to call two team time-outs in the space of only 156 seconds, when their opponents cruised to a 24:16 lead.

But the two team time-outs had no impact on the match, as France’s superior depth constantly challenged Serbia’s tired line-up, with a 8:0 run opening a double-digits gap, 29:16, with seven minutes to go. Riding some excellent saves from Romane Lehuault Parc, who stopped seven shots in the second half for a 44% saving efficiency, France eventually sealed a 30:19 win.

With the last matchday in Group F being scheduled for Saturday, France will face Germany, as both teams will be through provided Germany beat Spain in the next match in the Jane Sandanski Sports Center.

After two consecutive losses, especially the 21-goal one against Germany, Serbia are virtually heading for the President’s Cup, after their match against Spain, on Saturday.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Teodora Vranic (Serbia)