Mission accomplished !
In front of more than 10,000 spectators gathered in the MMArena in Le Mans, the Bleues won their ticket on Tuesday evening to Australia and New Zealand where the next World Cup will take place in the summer of 2023 (July 20 - August 20). world.
Corinne Deacon's players won their ticket by making an eight out of eight in qualification, after their success against Slovenia on Tuesday evening.
The last two meetings against Estonia and Greece, in September, will therefore count for nothing.
This qualification in hand, the tricolor can now turn with peace of mind to their new goal: the Euro.
The competition will take place in England from July 6 to 31 where the French will first meet Italy (July 10), Belgium (July 14) and Iceland (July 18).
Since 2013, Les Bleues have participated in five competitions for as many eliminations in the quarter-finals.
A year after its last defeat, in a friendly match against the United States (2-0), the opponent who had put an end to its dream of the World Cup in 2019, the French women's team will thus present itself in England with the asserted ambition to finally put an end to this glass ceiling.
“This barrier of the quarter-finals, it must be hidden, confided to us recently Corinne Deacon.
Today, we have the chance to work at the FFF in stability.
With my staff, we have the opportunity to catch up this summer.
The goal is not to repeat mistakes.
We have the ambition to go to the final and lift the trophy.
We have this objective with the group, we set it together.
We don't hide it.
We have the merit and the courage to show it.
We show serenity, but also humility.
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Little chance of seeing Kheira Hamraoui again in blue
Beyond their prolific and effective offensive armada from PSG - Diani, Katoto, Baltimore - Les Bleues will advance towards the Euro strong in particular from a prestigious success against the reigning European champion, the Netherlands. (3-1), during the last French Tournament.
Of course, the experienced Wendie Renard was right to point out again on Monday that she did not want "to be champion of friendly matches".
“Me, all that interests me is the Euro, the World Cup and the Olympics, underlined the captain.
We know what to expect, but we will have to raise the bar collectively and individually, in terms of intensity, technical quality and efficiency.
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In her quest for success, Corinne Deacon should also be able to count on a calmer climate as she got closer to her players.
Since September, Wendie Renard has regained the captain's armband which had been taken away from her four years earlier.
Of course, until the end, the names of Eugénie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry, absent from all the latest lists, will return to the debates.
“The door is never closed to anyone,” Deacon told us again in mid-February.
On the other hand, we doubt to see Kheira Hamraoui again soon, the Parisian midfielder in conflict with Diani and Katoto in particular.
"The France team is made up of the best French players, even if sometimes we don't always take the best, precisely to be able to find a balance at team level", slipped the coach on Monday.
