France strengthen Euro preparations with Slovenia win

France have continued their build-up to the European Championship with a second successive victory at the Hubert Wagner Memorial. Andrea Giani’s side now has two wins from two, after overcoming Slovenia less than two weeks before the start of the continental tournament.

The French recovered from a difficult opening set, in which Slovenia established an early six-point advantage and eventually took the lead. France responded by moving 5-0 ahead at the start of the second set, then resisted a Slovenian fightback from 13-13. A 6-1 sequence restored their control, and they levelled the match at one set apiece on their second opportunity.

France then took command in the third set, building an early seven-point lead before winning it by 10. Slovenia reduced the deficit to one point during the fourth, but the French remained in front and closed out the match without allowing their opponents to regain the advantage. The final score was 16-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21.

The result keeps France on course to challenge for the Memorial Hubert Wagner title. Their final match on Sunday is against Poland, in a repeat of the most recent Olympic final. France had opened the weekend by defeating the United States and will now carry a perfect record into the tournament finale and their final preparations for the European Championship.