Valentin Kieffer France handball goalkeeper, Digi Mart USA News: Goalkeeper Valentin Kieffer of Limoges Handball, who joined the club this summer, has had a very strong start to the season and is returning to the France national team for the next two Euro 2028 qualifying matches, against Romania and Latvia. Facing competition from Charles Bolzinger, can he legitimately bid for the No. 1 goalkeeper position with Les Bleus?
Kieffer, trained largely in Sélestat, progressively climbed the ranks of French handball after stints with Saran and Dunkerque. He was named Starligue best goalkeeper in the 2023-2024 season, but was not called up to the senior national team by Guillaume Gille despite that performance.
At youth level he won European youth titles in 2016, world youth titles in 2017 and the world junior championship in 2019, and was named best goalkeeper at the 2019 world junior championship. The son of Jean-Luc Kieffer, France’s goalkeeping coach, continued to progress at Chambéry between 2024 and 2026.
After a transition year, he took a new step forward last season in Savoie, which led to his inclusion in the France squad in autumn 2025 and his first caps for Les Bleus last spring. This summer the 27-year-old signed with the Limoges club through June 2028, and has made a fast start under his new colors, placing him among the best French goalkeepers in his position.
Facing Kieffer, Charles Bolzinger, 25, is also in the France squad called up by Talant Dujshebaev. Despite being two years younger, the Montpellier goalkeeper has greater international experience.
Called up to the national team for the first time in 2022, he now has 35 caps for France, compared with only two for the Alsatian goalkeeper.
Statistically, Kieffer currently shows slightly higher efficiency in the league and in European competition, but Bolzinger has more extensive international and European experience.
Romain Mathias, the Sélestat goalkeeper, was initially called up but has withdrawn after an injury to his left ankle sustained during his club’s trip to Nîmes. To replace him, the French staff called up Rubens Pierre, now goalkeeper for HC Erlangen in the Bundesliga, though his participation is limited to training because of rules linked to his change of sporting nationality; he cannot play an official match for France before February 2028.
As a result, Bolzinger and Kieffer will be the two goalkeepers in this international break.
Both matches count toward Euro 2028 qualification and are also important steps in France’s preparation for the 2027 World Championship, the 30th edition of the men’s tournament, to be held in Germany from January 13 to 31, 2027.
France vs. Romania is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 8 p.m.
at the Arena du Pays d’Aix in Aix-en-Provence, broadcast on beIN SPORTS 1 and HandballTV. Latvia vs.
France is scheduled for Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 2:10 p.m. in Jelgava, Latvia, broadcast on beIN SPORTS and HandballTV.
