France join Hungary in semi-finals with victory over Sweden

The world champions looked like they would cruise to a straightforward victory after a dominant first half, but found themselves under some pressure from Sweden in the second. However, they finished strongly and eliminated Sweden from contention; Tomas Axnér’s side still have a chance to play for fifth place depending on the last day of main round action in Debrecen on Tuesday.

GROUP I

Sweden vs France 27:31 (13:19)

• Sweden went head-to-head with France for 13 minutes in the opening half before their opponents took control and a six-goal (19:13) lead at the break
• Swedish coach Tomas Axnér chose to play seven-against-six in attack at the start of the second half and narrowed the French advantage to just three goals (21:24) in the 42nd minute
• Jamina Roberts and Tyra were Sweden's joint top scorers with four goals each, while 11 Swedish players got on the scoresheet
• Laura Glauser was once again excellent in goal for France with the goalkeeper making 10 saves (36 per cent), including some crucial stops in crunchtime
• Estelle Nze Minko scored six goals and the left back was the match's joint top scorer alongside Tamara Horacek as well as the Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos
• France reach the EHF EURO semi-finals for a fifth time in a row and the seventh time in history

France, a class above Sweden

With Les Bleues in pole position to reach the semi-finals ahead of the match and with Sweden under immense pressure to deliver in a must-win game, France outperformed Tomas Axnér's squad.

The performance showed why France deserve their semi-final spot as they were better both in attack and defence, intercepting many Swedish attacks and converting them to easy goals.

Furthermore, Lucie Granier and Estelle Nze Minko were creators of some extremely attractive goals, which just shows the high level of confidence within the squad ahead of the semi-finals.

Photos © EHF/kolektiff