Although it ends in defeat, the 2024 Water Polo World Cup for the Blues in Doha will remain historic. For the first time, the French team reached the final four of the competition. And finally, what does it matter if she did not manage to win her first world medal on Saturday February 17, authoritatively beaten by the Spanish (10-14), European champions, during the match for bronze.
Not completely recovered from their disillusionment against Croatia, which deprived them of the final in the previous round (defeat on penalties 17-16), the Tricolores never really existed against their opponents of the day. These Spaniards, who, a year ago, during the World Cup in Fukuoka (Japan), had already prevented them, for a small goal at the very end of the game, from being invited to the semi-finals.
Trailing by three goals at the end of the first quarter (1-4) – a water polo match takes place over four eight-minute periods – the Blues were too clumsy offensively to believe in a comeback. Their goalkeeper, Hugo Fontani, was not as impressive as in the rest of the competition.
Olympic Games objective
From this Qatari World Cup, the French will especially remember their performance during the quarter-finals, where they dismissed, to everyone's surprise, the Hungarian title holders: 11-10. This sparked enthusiasm in the press and among sports fans, who had almost never heard of this team with a rather meager record.
Some may remember that water polo had become, in 1924, in Paris, the first French collective discipline to win an Olympic title. A century later, once again at home, will the Blues be able to repeat the feat? In almost constant progress for two seasons and after their journey in this World Cup, Florian Bruzzo's players are now dreaming of a podium.
They will be able to get a little more precise idea of their chances of medals this Saturday, at the end of the day. The group draw for Paris 2024 will be carried out in Doha after the final, between Italy and Croatia (3:30 p.m.).
The twelve teams qualified for the Games – which include the United States, Australia, Japan, Montenegro and South Africa – will be divided into two groups of six. With the aim of making their anthem resonate on August 11, 2024, within Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).
