In disagreement with the management of the national football team, the captain of the Bleues, Wendie Renard, announced on social networks, Friday, February 24, her “decision to take a step back with the French team”. The defender, who has accumulated 142 selections since March 2, 2011, explains that she can no longer “endorse the current system far from the requirements required by the highest level”. The Lyonnaise considers this withdrawal necessary to preserve her mental health and announces that she is giving up, at the same time, the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, from July 20 to August 20, and which will start for the Blue against Jamaica, July 23.
This announcement from one of the most emblematic French players is a thunderclap for French women’s football, just five months before this international deadline where Les Bleues are aiming for a first international title. “My face can hide the pain but my heart hurts… and I don’t want to hurt anymore,” the 32-year-old explained.
A complex relationship with Corinne Deacon
Since the start of the season, the French have been going through a complicated period, with in particular two significant defeats against two competitors with a view to the world title, in October, in Germany (2-1) and Sweden (3-0). Led by Wendie Renard, they have however won the Tournoi de France in recent days, a friendly event, against nations deemed weaker: Denmark (1-0), Uruguay (5-1) and Norway (0- 0).
Without clearly giving the reasons for his announcement, Renard is opening a new chapter in his complex relationship with coach Corinne Deacon, who had removed the captain’s armband from the Martiniquaise upon his arrival in 2017, before returning it to him in September 2021.
In recent days, Renard had for example estimated that it was complicated to embark on the experimentation of a new tactical system because of the lack of “time” in selection, going against the choices of Corinne Deacon, who she assumed a “workforce review” and multiple “trials” a few months before the World Cup.
As Euro 2022 approached, where Les Bleues had reached the semi-finals, Corinne Deacon had already experienced a turbulent period after dismissing two executives from the France team, Amandine Henry and the former captain and top scorer in the history of Les Bleues Eugénie Le Sommer.
