After 48 hours with their loved ones, the 23 Bleues and the tricolor staff meet this Monday evening before flying away, this Tuesday morning, from Roissy, to their base camp for the Euro in England (July 6 to 31) , located in Ahby-de-la-Zouch, between Birmingham and Nottingham.
Corinne Deacon and her players will settle in Champneys Springs, a spa hotel which has the great advantage of having its own training ground.
This is located an hour's drive from New York stadium in Rotherham, even further north, where they will play their three first round matches against Italy (10th), Belgium (14th) and Iceland (18th) before a possible quarter-final (23rd) in the event of first place.
Asked about the choice of this base, Corinne Deacon explained that it "was part of a catalog given by UEFA".
Before adding: “The fact that there was a training ground nearby was a key element.
The facilities are very very good.
There is a weight room which will serve as a pre-warm-up before going to the field.
The Federation gave us the means not to completely privatize the hotel but in any case in a very substantial way, 80% for us and 20% for outside people during the day.
The night will be completely privatized.
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During her scouting visit, the coach also appreciated the surrounding greenery and access to outdoor spaces, each room having a small terrace or balcony.
“I hope that the competition will be long so it is imperative to feel good there to live there as best as possible, to feel at home”, she had indicated on the site of the FFF.
This Tuesday afternoon, Les Bleues will train for the first time on English soil.
They had left after their great success against Vietnam (7-0), Friday, in Orleans, a week after having already beaten Cameroon (4-0), in Beauvais.
These two matches embellished a preparation started on June 9 with a four-day regeneration course in Anglet before joining Clairefontaine on June 14.
A preparation that is not completely perfect in the eyes of Corinne Deacon.
“It would have been perfect if I had had 23 players tonight, she slipped last Friday about the absences of Wendie Renard (thigh), Grace Geyoro and Sakina Karchaoui (in recovery).
From the moment I had three in the stands for me it's not perfect.
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The return to form of these three potential holders, who did not take part in either of the two preparation matches, will be one of the challenges of the next few working days.
One thing is certain: the French women are eager to start the competition which had been postponed for a year due to the Covid-related pandemic.
They have set themselves the goal of reaching the final at Wembley on July 31 to be able to win the first title in their history.