France-Brazil: Les Bleues end in the quarter-finals of the World Volleyball Championship

The French volleyball players confirmed their significant progress, but were unable to do anything against the more seasoned Brazilians. On Thursday, September 4, the French women were beaten in three sets (27-25, 33-31, 25-19) in Bangkok, in the quarterfinals of the World Volleyball Championships, a competition taking place in Thailand until September 7.

France is eliminated, but they didn't give up without a fight. Reaching this stage of the competition for the first time in their history, the French team delivered a high-level performance before succumbing to a more experienced team, ranked second in the world and bronze medalists at the 2024 Paris Games.

The sparse crowd supported the "Auriverdes" throughout the match. Led by receiver-attacker Gabi, one of the best volleyball players in the world, Brazil boasts tall players, several of them over 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in). They play a powerful game, in a style similar to that of China, France's opponent in the previous round.

The Brazilians were wary of the French, who had twice pushed them to a tiebreak in June during the Nations League, a competition that brings together the world's 18 best teams, and then in the group stage of the World Cup. They had clearly analyzed their opponents' game on video and put a plan in place to neutralize the two main threats facing the French side: receiver-attacker Héléna Cazaute and point guard Iman Ndiaye, whose role is to finish off her team's moves with smashes.

The French, who deserved to win the second set, did not fall apart despite a poor start, a testament to their mental progress, but their play was too predictable to cause doubts for the Brazilians. With their power, Hénéna Cazaute, Iman Ndiaye, and Amélie Rotar managed to destabilize the opposing defense at times, but the French lacked the consistency to win and can leave the World Cup without much regret.