Wendie Renard and her teammates will go a little more into the heart of the matter in Australia. Their start to the 2023 World Cup was not the most reassuring, with a draw (0-0) against Jamaica, modest 43rd in the FIFA rankings.
After a padlocked first half-time period, the Blues had more opportunities after returning from the locker room, without finding the fault. Domination was there, however, with 73% possession and 12 corners to 2.
The absences of Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Delphine Cascarino, voted D1 Arkema’s best player of the 2022-2023 season, are felt in the attacking sector. This meeting also proves that their room for maneuver has been reduced against the teams supposed to be within their reach, and that solutions are lacking for Hervé Renard in the last thirty meters against grouped blocks. Perhaps a slightly more playful opponent will allow Les Bleues to break free. And that’s good, this Saturday (12 p.m.), they challenge Brazil, who made short work of Panama when they entered the running with a wide success 4-0 and a hat-trick from Ary Borges.
??Base camp guided tour with @So_Durand ?? > https://t.co/SiTprPqbUE pic.twitter.com/jSBfGWk3t8
Hervé Renard will be able to find out more about his group and its possible glass ceiling in this competition, where the Blue appear for the moment behind the big names like England, Spain or the United States. The coach remains optimistic about the chances of his group in this world, as he indicated at a press conference. “I’m satisfied with the state of mind of the players who showed their reaction and fighting skills which will serve us for the rest of the tournament. You have to stay the course. Full confidence in this team despite some absences. We have coped and we will move forward together. »
After a semi-final at the last Euro and a quarter-final at the 2019 World Cup, Les Bleues are still looking for their first international title. The preparation for this deadline in Australia and New Zealand was not the most obvious, with the ousting of Corinne Deacon last March and a deleterious climate around this team. Hervé Renard arrived in Clairefontaine with the ambition to boost the morale of the troops and above all to take Les Bleues to a new level. The 54-year-old coach also has the Olympics in mind in a year, a tournament where France is automatically qualified as host country.
