France - Germany women: the Blue in front of 5000 spectators in Strasbourg

For the Bleues of Corinne Deacon, the eleventh and last match of the 2020-2021 financial year was to be played once again behind closed doors. But the French Football Federation "finally obtained permission from the authorities to accommodate 5,000 spectators" at the Meinau, she announced on Wednesday afternoon. Broadcaster W9 also "agreed to bring the broadcast forward to 8:55 p.m.", a quarter of an hour earlier than expected, which "will allow the supporters to return at the end of the match while respecting the new cover schedule. sanitary fire set at 11 pm, ”says the Federation. The "3F" now has one day to deliver sesame, by invitation and with a mandatory "health pass" ("QR code" justifying a vaccine or a negative anti-Covid test). As for the Blues on Tuesday in Saint-Denis,tickets will go in priority to nursing staff and students. Subscribers of Racing Club de Strasbourg will also be invited.

This turnaround gives a little more flavor to this gala poster, marked by the absence of many stars in the ranks of the Mannschaft and the Tricolores. On the French side, it will be necessary to do without the twirling Lyon wing Delphine Cascarino, nor the arrows of PSG Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, all forced to give up on injury. Voted best player of the season in D1, Diani left the squad on Tuesday after injuring her foot the day before in training. The coach Corinne Deacon will have to find resources among the 20 remaining players, facing an opponent well known to the Blue and "who has rarely smiled at us in the past". For that, it will be necessary "to find the words to motivate the players in spite of the physical and mental fatigue", she had launched when announcing her list.

No Amandine Henry

For sporting reasons, the boss of the Bleues has chosen to do without the services of Amandine Henry, her captain at the World Cup-2019 but with whom she has been cold for several months. "It's a decision of the moment, it is a selection at the moment T" taken in view of the last performances "of the 31-year-old Lyonnaise, she justified. The experienced Barça midfielder Kheira Hamraoui, recently titled in the Champions League, still does not enter into the plans of Deacon who, for other reasons, will not be able to rely on Eugenie Le Sommer and the promising Sandy Baltimore. The Lyonnaise is in the infirmary and the Parisienne has academic requirements. In this context, Wendie Renard, Marion Torrent, Grace Geyoro, Amel Majri,Viviane Asseyi or Valérie Gauvin will serve as executives to surround the young guard represented in particular by Kessya Bussy.

The Reims striker (19) may have the time to celebrate a first selection in front of some relatives. In any case, it will not face the more than 15,000 people who were present for the last France-Germany (3-3) women played in Strasbourg on February 13, 2013. The German neighbors will cross the Rhine with a team weakened by a cascade of absences. Parisian midfielder Sara Däbritz, hit in a shin, added her name Tuesday to the long list of packages, including Lyon midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan, retained in the United States by OL Reign, to whom she was loaned. Operated on a knee in May, Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp is missing, like her club teammate Sara Doorsoun (foot). This is also the case for Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger,absent for "personal reasons" according to the German Federation.

More than a prestigious meeting, the opposition against Germany will therefore serve more to carry out "tests" for Deacon in view of the next official deadlines, namely the start of qualifications for the World Cup-2023, on September 17 in Greece. and September 21 in Slovenia.