France win against brave Romanians

Romania quickly negated France’s early lead and equalised halfway through the second half, before France composed themselves to secure victory.

GROUP I

France vs Romania 30:25 (12:9)

• France held a four-goal lead on a few occasions in the first half, but the Romanians stood their ground
• Orlane Kanor scored a buzzer-beater to take France into the locker room three goals up, but Romania knew the world champions were well within their reach at that point
• Laura Glauser made nine saves between the sticks, while her colleague Hatadou Sako played a key role in helping her teammates to hold on to their lead with seven saves in the second half
• Romanian goalkeeper Bianca Curment was also key, with 10 saves (31 per cent) before leaving the court in the closing quarter of the game
• Bianca Bazaliu was the match’s joint-top scorer and Romania's top scorer with six goals to her name
• French left wing Chloé Valentini scored six goals from six shots and was selected as the Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos

France's individual quality prevails

The reigning world champions may have come off victorious against Romania, but at the same time, Les Bleues did not impress. They made five technical errors – one more than their opponents – and had 12 misses in the first half.

However, France's individual quality within the squad is on a different level to Romania’s and that was evident when the match went into the decisive moments in the second half. With the result tied 20:20 in the 48th minute and the final outcome hanging in the balance, France took the matter in their own hands and, helped by Hatadou Sako’s saves, rebuilt their lead to secure their fourth win in the tournament.

Photos © EHF/kolektiff