Les Bleus had the opportunity to pull off a major upset against the world champions, who were favourites in their home town of Herning. Guillaume Gille's men stared their opponents down and even went close to winning, but the Danes took control at the end of the match (29-32). Nevertheless, this France side featuring Elohim Prandi (one goal), Karl Konan and Wallem Peleka did not disappoint in this tough battle on the Scandinavians' home turf.
Thanks to their victory over Norway in the last match of the preliminary round, France already have two points in this particularly challenging main round. They will need to quickly pick themselves up as a clash with Pofrtugal is looming on Saturday, with crucial matches against Spain (Monday) and Germany (Wednesday) to follow. In order to make it through to the semi-finals, Les Bleus must finish in the top two in their group. The stage is set!
Facing Spain in their opening match of the main round, Norway managed to come out on top 35-34 at the end of an epic battle. Simen Lyse (who scored two goals) and his teammates were on tenterhooks until the very end, but managed to secure the crucial win. Their next match, in the same group as France, is against Germany on Saturday (20:30).