Thunderbolt on the French women’s team: captain Wendie Renard and attackers Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, the most emblematic players of the Bleues, slammed the door of the selection five months before the World Cup, demanding “changes “.
“Management” decried, “system far from high-level requirements”, mixed “results” … The three stars of the team did not mince words on social networks, a few days after the first gathering of the year. The uppercut is violent for the management of the France team. He indirectly reached coach Corinne Deacon, never named by her executives but referred to in veiled terms, and the French Football Federation.
“I can no longer endorse the current system, far from the requirements required by the highest level,” writes Renard, holder of the best record of the current France team at the height of her 32 years and 142 selections. The explosion quickly turned into a fire when the two stars of the Paris SG and Les Bleues attack, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, followed in the footsteps of the Lyonnaise.
Thank you for your support and respect for my decision. ???? pic.twitter.com/MOryINwvb0
The first mentioned “the events of 2019” [she had not been selected for the World Cup in France, editor’s note] and “the injury of 2022” [she seriously injured her knee at the last Euro] to justify her position. “I am no longer in line with the management of the France team and the values ??transmitted”, writes the top scorer of the last three seasons of women’s D1. The second points to “recent results” and “management in the French team”, requiring “profound changes”.
Wendie Renard goes even further by indicating that she wants to “preserve [sa] mental health”. “My face can hide the pain, but my heart hurts…and I don’t want to hurt anymore,” the player said.
“The FFF would like to remind you that no individuality is above the France team institution,” reacted the French Football Federation (FFF) on Friday. “The FFF has taken note of the statements of Wendie Renard, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto. Its executive committee, meeting on February 28, will take up the issue on this occasion,” added the “3F” in a press release.
Five months before the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20-August 20), the three most emblematic players have therefore left the selection, led since 2017 by Corinne Deacon. The coach, not pinned by name by the three players in their messages, nevertheless finds herself under pressure like the French Football Federation, already mired in a governance crisis with the future of President Noël Le Graët, which is written in dotted lines.
In recent days, Renard had for example recognized 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. Deacon has, moreover, dismissed for a long time former emblematic players partners of Renard in Lyon, such as Eugénie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry.
This announcement is a thunderclap for French women’s football, just five months from a World Cup where Les Bleues hope to win their first international title. Unlucky semi-finalists at the Euro last summer, the French have lived through several mixed months since the start of the season, with in particular two significant defeats in October in Germany (2-1) and Sweden (3-0), two competing for the planetary title. Led by Renard, the Bleues have timidly raised their heads by winning the Tournoi de France in recent days, a friendly event, against nations deemed weaker: Denmark (1-0), Uruguay (5-1) and France. Norway (0-0).