DUSSELDORF - Comments from France head coach Guillaume Gille (FRA) and right back Nédim Rémili (FRA), and North Macedonia head coach Kiril Lazarov (MKD) and goalkeeper Nikola Mitrevski (MKD) after France beat North Macedonia 39:29 in preliminary round group A at the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA on Wednesday.

Guillaume Gille (FRA) – France head coach

On the game:
“A first game in such a competition is never easy to play and we saw that tonight. Our defence took some time to adapt to the way our opponents were playing, really slow to the point where I think the referees might have whistled a bit more. But overall, I’m very happy, we won by 10, we were able to give playing time to all the players and that’s the only thing that matters tonight.”

On playing in a stadium:
“It’s amazing, and I want to congratulate the German fans, who not only turned up for their national team’s game, but also for the first match. It was a privilege, I’m quite sad we have to leave as soon as possible, because as a handball fan, the second game is going to be one hell of an experience.”

On defending against seven Macedonian players:
“We had to adapt but we have players to do so. Benoit Kounkoud proved all his quality in the second half, stealing balls and offering us some different solutions.”

Nédim Rémili (FRA) – right back

On how hard it is to start a competition:
“You saw how average our first half was, we could have done better. Our defence took 15 minutes to get working, but once we discussed it in the timeout it was much better. We helped our goalkeepers as well, so they could make easy saves and give us the upper hand.”

On playing in a full stadium:
“I was among the ones saying that the German fans wouldn’t come for our game, but they proved me wrong. It was amazing, I took a moment to look at the surroundings once I was sitting on the bench. I told myself that I should enjoy it because I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to play in a stadium again.”

Kiril Lazarov (MKD) – head coach

On losing to France:
“They deserved to win, they are the best in the world. We were fighting; we are not satisfied from our guys, it was not enough. I am not satisfied because we lose. We deserved to lose by six or seven goals.”

On the next round:
“We have days now to prepare for Germany. We have not enough luck to be in a group with France and Germany but that is our luck.“

Nikola Mitrevski (MKD) - goalkeeper

On the game:
“We started really well, we were able to defend great and to score goals following the plan that we had set. Sadly, we missed the opportunity to take a three-goal lead and made too many mistakes afterwards. And when you make mistakes against such a strong team, then you pay if full price.”

On how hard it is to play against France:
“We said it beforehand, France are one of the best teams in the world. We managed to look at them in the eyes for 20 minutes, and that’s something we can build on for the future. But they have so many solutions on the bench, so much experience, that it is hard to follow-up for 60 minutes.”

On playing in a full stadium:
“It is an honour, and really I tried to enjoy it the most. It is completely different to what we are used, as the stands are so far away from the court. But this is really something I will remember for the rest of my career.”