Thunderclap within the tricolor row. The captain of the French women’s football team, Wendie Renard, announced this Friday, February 24 that she wanted “take a step back” compared to the France team, in a press release on its social networks. She thus indicates that she does not want to participate in the World Cup, which will take place from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Thank you for your support and respect for my decision. ???????? pic.twitter.com/MOryINwvb0
— Wendie Renard (@WRenard) February 24, 2023
Complicated relations with Deacon
“I love France more than anything (…) but I can no longer endorse the current system, which is far from the requirements required by the highest level”, wrote the emblematic defender, who has 142 selections with the Blue. “It is a sad but necessary day to preserve my sanity. It is with a heavy heart that I come by this message to inform you of my decision to take a step back with the France team. »
The Olympique Lyonnais player explains that she does not want to play the World Cup in “such conditions”, while leaving the real reasons behind this sudden decision unclear. However, the relationship with the coach, Corinne Deacon, who had removed the armband from him in 2017 and then returned in 2021, seems to be at the heart of the concerns.
In recent days, Wendie Renard had notably recognized that it was complicated to embark on the experimentation of a new tactical system due to the lack of « temps » in selection. Words that went against the choices of Corinne Deacon, who for her part assumes a “staff review” and “trials” multiple a few months before the World Cup.
A move followed by other executives
A few hours after Wendie Renard’s decision, two other executives of the France team, the two Paris Saint-Germain attackers, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, announced that they were also withdrawing from Les Bleues. They call for “necessary changes” in the management of the French women’s team, in press releases also published on their social networks.
These announcements are a thunderclap for French women’s football, before a crucial deadline for Les Bleues. “My face can hide the pain, but my heart hurts… and I don’t want to hurt anymore,” developed the Martiniquaise Wendie Renard, in a message which highlights a deleterious atmosphere within the selection.