2023-07-28 17:45:30
On the eve of facing Brazil on Saturday July 29, the French women’s football team is still in doubt. While the match will be decisive for the future of Les Bleues in the competition and for their chances of seeing the round of 16, the staff and the group are still looking for certainties. And this, until the presence, or not, of captain Wendie Renard in the starting lineup.
Published on: 07/28/2023 – 17:45Modified on: 07/28/2023 – 17:47
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reaction or anxiety. Badly embarked on its World Cup after a first disappointing draw against Jamaica, the French women’s team approaches without certainty the big piece of group F, Brazil. Saturday July 28 (12 noon) in Brisbane, in front of 50,000 spectators, Les Bleues will face the real turning point of the Hervé Renard era.
Four years after the memorable France-Brazil World Cup in France, a 2-1 victory after extra time in the round of 16 in Le Havre, and 25 years after that of the men in the final in 1998, the tricolors have a lot to lose in this five-star poster . A defeat against the Seleçao of the legend Marta would spell the end of the hopes of first place in the pool and would condemn the Blues, at best, to a probable round of 16 against the dreaded Germans.
At best, because the fear of a catastrophic elimination from the group stage, a first for twenty years, does exist. Les Bleues would no longer have their destiny in hand, even in the event of a victory against the modest Panama on August 2, at the end of the first round. On the other hand, a success against the South Americans, 8th nation in the world which has never beaten the Blues, would open the doors wide to the final phase, undoubtedly with the first place in the group.
In the middle of the summer crossover Saturday in France, the coach remains convinced of having taken the right route towards a first international trophy, the dream of a talented generation and an ambitious Federation. “ There’s no stress to be had “, tempers Hervé Renard. ” A World Cup, it is lived intensely. These are unforgettable moments, which can be fantastic, so you have to free yourself. It’s up to us to be ourselves “, he continued.
But the luggage of the Blues is quite heavy on the road to Brisbane Stadium, between the doubts born of the first match rather tasteless, worrying offensively, and especially the injuries. By adding up the absences and the physical glitches suffered since the start of the preparation (Amandine Henry, Delphine Cascarino, Marie-Antoinette Katoto …), the staff could concoct a hell of a starting lineup.
To make matters worse, the group is suspended from the state of form of its captain and central defender, Wendie Renard, and her 147 selections. The Martiniquaise, diminished by a “glitch” in the left calf, ” knows his body » et « will make the decision “Itself with a view to tenure, said Hervé Renard. But ” we need her “, he launched, relaunching the game of liar poker started since Monday as to the real state of this framework of the Blue, 15 times champion of France and eight times champion of Europe with his club.
« She prepares as if she was going to play. You have the advantage of having someone who knows your body well “, positive with AFP Jean-Michel Aulas, head of the delegation in Australia and close to Renard for having had him in his ranks as president of OL. In recent days, the hypothesis of seeing it start, even if it means remaining at rest against Panama, has been put forward by several sources close to the Blues. The experience of the captain will not be too much against the Seleçao, at the head of the group after his demonstration against Panama (4-0).
On the attacking front, the Kadidiatou Diani-Eugénie Le Sommer duo will try to recall the memory of France-Brazil in 2019, the emotional peak of the previous edition, on a June evening when nearly 12 million people had turned on their TV to see Amandine Henry deliver Les Bleues in overtime. Four years later, without Henry injured, without extension and in front of two to three times fewer viewers, France dreams of the same outcome.
(With AFP)
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