Persistent holdouts. Ostensible non-selection. Rejuvenation of the workforce… A few months before entering the Euro, in England (from July 6 to 31), and as it tackles two key matches to clinch qualification for the 2023 World Cup – Friday April 8 in Wales and Tuesday April 12, at Le Mans, against Slovenia – the French women’s football team is still looking for a stable and lasting structure. And, if possible, serenity.
Corinne Deacon, the coach of the Bleues, has especially, in recent months, testified to what she does not want. Or more. She kept away players like Amandine Henry and Eugénie Le Sommer, who until recently were still the team’s executives, but with whom relations had deteriorated after the 2019 World Cup at home, marked by the elimination in the quarter-finals.
The matches to come and their stakes have not changed the situation. Eugénie Le Sommer is, of course, still embarrassed in one thigh, but Amandine Henry, injured in the ankle, was available. The two Olympique Lyonnais players were not called up.
No more, either, than the PSG player Kheira Hamraoui. Here, it is not strained relations with the coach that are in question, but a problem of cohabitation with other Blues also playing at PSG: Aminata Diallo, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani.
The attack, committed on November 4, 2021, against Kheira Hamraoui had led to the custody of Aminata Diallo. No charges were ultimately brought against the latter, and the investigation is still ongoing.
“A little time to see how things will evolve”
Both within the PSG and in the France team, this “affair” has left its mark. On February 22, during the victory of Les Bleues against the Netherlands (3-1), as part of the Tournoi de France in Le Havre, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, to celebrate the goal she had scored, had mimed, with Kadidiatou Diani, the letter “A” in support of Aminata Diallo.
“We’re not going to lie to each other, we all know that some relationships are difficult in the club. The France team is something else. I’m giving myself some time to see how things will develop.”explained Corinne Deacon, to justify the non-selection of Kheira Hamraoui, whom she had recalled to the group during the previous gathering, after three years of absence.
The coach wants to give herself time to explore all possible options and maintains that the icy relations between the Parisian players could weigh in her final list for the Euro. Even if Kheira Hamraoui, holder in the Parisian midfield but second choice in selection until then, has returned to a selectable level, his non-convocation would be the way to preserve the sacrosanct “group balance”.
“Is she able to accept the role of substitute and spend three games on the bench at the Euro without playing and without dividing the locker room? The coach may favor a girl who is less reactive but who will accept this role and who will let you work quietly for two months. “, notes Aline Riera, who played Euro 2001 with the Blue.
Transition initiated
Significantly, ten of the twenty-three players summoned by Corinne Deacon for this gathering did not experience the 2019 World Cup. Kheira Hamraoui is, for example, replaced for the next two matches by Ella Palis (Girondins de Bordeaux, four selections) , who knew the young selections (under 19 and under 23).
“Corinne wants to see Elle Palis again for two big matches to see if she can integrate the group and become a potential complement for the Euro”explains Aline Riera, ex-French international (60 caps).
If the coach has rejuvenated her group, do the choices made mark the end of an era? “Talking about reconstruction seems excessive to me, replies Olivier Echouafni, ex-coach of Les Bleues (2016, 2017) and ex-coach of PSG (2018-2021). The France team is above all reaching a certain maturity. Some players that I was able to train like Grace Geyoro or Marie-Antoinette Katoto were under 21 years old. They now have more experience. They will have their say for the future of this team. »
By gradually incorporating elements from the under-23s, such as Clara Mateo, a Paris FC player who made a name for herself during the Tournoi de France, Corinne Deacon began the transition.
Even if some have not yet tasted international games adorned with the blue jersey, the experience stored in the club is well worth a few selections, according to Aline Riera: “There are players who have almost twenty European Cup matches. You gain more experience with these knockout matches than an international match in front of two hundred people by winning 10-0”.
Les Bleues will not need to score as many goals to open the doors to the World Cup. At the top of their group (18 points) ahead of the Welsh (13 points)they could, in case of success on Friday evening at Llanelli, settle for a draw against Slovenia (3andwith 11 points), to qualify before the final stage of qualifying in September.
They total thirteen victories and a draw in the (past) qualifying matches for Euro 2022 and those (current) of the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup. They have conceded only one defeat since their exit from the 2019 World Cup. : against the Americans in a friendly, a year ago.
