France Futsal WNT earn their first ever win

In their fourth game, the French team defeated Slovenia away three goals to one to record their first ever win. The full record is P4 W1 D2 L1.

The first game was a double header in France that ended with a 1-1 draw and a 1-2 defeat against Finland and then France played a double header away to Slovenia with a 2-2 draw and a 3-1 win.

The France Futsal WNT was recently created as part of the FFF commitment towards the sport and with the FIFA Futsal WWC being set for 2025, it came at right time for France to enter the tournament qualification. Those qualifiers will start in October.

The FFF has pledged 18.4 M€ for the 2022-25 cycle in order to develop men and women futsal. The MNT has recently qualified for the 2024 FIFA WC, obviously the WNT will try their best to get one of the four spots for the 2025 FIFA WWC, but it is unlikely as the team has just started with the first ever training camp taking place back in September 23.

If we look at the goalscorers for France for those four games

France 1 Finland 1 (Lena Jouan)

France 1 Finland 2 (Alexandra Atamaniuk) a player who won the u-19 2013 Euros in Wales in 11 a side football alongside M’Bock Bathy, Tounkara, Tolleti, Durand, Lavogez, Le Bihan etc

Slovenia 2 France 2 (Amandine Billon, Lena Jouan)

Slovenia 1 France 3 ( Alexandra Atamaniuk, Lena Jouan x2)

To recap Lena Jouan 4, Alexandra Atamaniuk 2, Amandine Billon 1)

Up next will be a tournament in Serbia in 14,16,17 and 18 March, here France will take on the host, plus Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.

Who could make the France WWC 2023 squad?

Looking at Herve Renard’s choices and options for the tournament

Herve Renard has taken over the France WNT team following the sacking of Corinne Diacre due to the players’ rebellion validated by the FFF. He has managed two games already and will be left with two more friendlies away to Ireland and Australia before the tournament’s start.

We will have a look at the players who are likely to be on the plane, those who have a chance and those who are more or less blacklisted already and will not travel to Australia unless something big happens.

Originally, Herve Renard had selected 27 players in his first squad list. Of course, he had limited time and knowledge of the women players and therefore was helped with a 51 players long-list provided to him by people in the know. He was also helped by the women’s football committee to choose those players. In the end only 26 players came as one of them got injured the day before the list was revealed.

So I have split the players into four categories: those who are definitely going to Australia if they don’t get injured before the tournament. Those who are definitely going if they come back to full fitness as they are currently injured. Those who can possibly go as they are on the edge of the squad, those who have an outside chance.

I believe 18 players are definitely going to the World Cup:

Three goalkeepers Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, Constance Picaud and Mylene Chavas. The first two got a game each and with the goalkeeping coach the only survivor from Diacre’s coaching staff, PPM is still number one in the hierarchy.

One right-back Eve Perisset, there is no doubt the Chelsea defender will be there.

Two left-backs Selma Bacha and Sakina Karchaoui, the Lyon and PSG defenders are also definitely going too.

Three centre-backs Wendie Renard, Elisa De Almeida, Estelle Cascarino. Renard being the captain is guaranteed to go. De Almeida and Cascarino got a games as starters and can also play at full-back is needed. Their versatility is an asset and De Almeida could compete for the right-back spot with Perisset as per Herve Renard post match conference against Canada.

One defensive midfield Oriane Jean-Francois got one start and one game as sub with a good performance. There is also the fact that three other defensive midfielders have not been called up is a clear sign she is ahead of them.

Two central midfield Sandie Toletti and Grace Geyoro, both are key players and likely to be starters in July

Two attacking midfield Kenza Dali and Lea Le Garrec, there is no doubt Dali who has been ever present in the squad will be there. Le Garrec returned to the team after a five years absence and therefore has to fight for her place in the 23. She did really well when she came on against Canada getting a goal and with the lack of playmakers in the squad, she could be an excellent option from the bench in the tournament.

One right-winger Delphine Cascarino, she simply could be a world class player if her performances and final product were consistent. That consistency has been her problem for many many years, because her talent is incredible.

One left-winger Amel Majri, she has returned to the squad with her baby in tow thanks to the new FFF policy decided under Diacre and implemented by Renard. She can also play in central midfield too.

Two centre-forwards Eugenie Le Sommer-Dariel and Clara Mateo. Le Sommer returned to the squad thanks to Herve Renard who named her vice-captain as well. She is guaranteed to go to Australia to bring her experience and probably to come late in games as a super-sub. Mateo Has been very consistent in D1Arkema and has matured as a player in recent seasons.

Now we can add four more players who will definitely travel to Australia if they can prove their fitness as they are key players:

1 cente-back Griedge M’Bock Bathy

1 defensive midfield Amandine Henry

1 right-winger Kadidiatou Diani

1 striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto

There are questions mark about M’Bock-Bathy and Katoto because their clubs do not communicate much about when they will come back. Diani will be back soon from her collarbone injury. Henry is back to full fitness but off sick. She is currently in conflict with her club Lyon, because she wanted to leave early to sign for Angel City, while the club does not want to release her.

Herve Renard clearly counts on those four players and has called them when he took over. Potentially up to 22 players are more or less on the plane and only one available spot

We can also talk about those who have not been called up and seem out of the reckoning despite being important players under Diacre: Marion Torrent, Ella Pallis and Charlotte Bilbault. As always with a new coach, some players simply disappear because they do not fit into what the manager want.

Keira Hamraoui was not called up as well and Herve Renard explained why in his firsts press conference “ first of all a sporting choice, but also when you build up a squad, there are many elements to be taken into consideration. You have to ask the right questions and build up your squad accordingly”. It is quite clear, some players do not get on with her and it is enough not to call her up.

Who could be the final player in the squad. Two wingers are really on the fringe and fighting for that last spot. Sandy Baltimore on the left side, whose form has not been as brilliant as it was in previous season. She was recently fined by the police 1 500€ with 1000€ suspended for violence against a former friend and has to pay 1 500€ to the victim too.

The other winger is Vivianne Asseyi who is having a superb season with West Ham in England. She faces a lot of competition in attack on the right-wing, with Cascarino and Diani.

All the other players called up during the international break for the games against Colombia and Canada are basically outsiders. Two of them were actually called-up for the u-23 team that was playing a friendly in the Netherlands forward Melvine Malard and right-back Jade le Guilly.

You also have two centre-backs who made the bench for only one game out of two and got zero minute and therefore are clearly at the back in the pecking order: Maelle Lakrar and Hawa Cissoko. Same situation for the striker Ouleymata Sarr who made the bench only once and got zero minute too. last but not least Kessya Bussy who was originally called up, but pulled out of the camp and was replaced by Malard.

One of those seven players is likely to make the squad if one of the player ahead of them ends up injured before the tournament, or if one of the four players who need to prove their fitness does not make it.

France were planning to go into camp early June as the coach needs to learn about his players quickly. A big squad with up to 30 players would be selected and then trimmed to 23 at a point before the Ireland friendly in Dubin. But those plans might go to the bin now that the ECA has said that players would only be released ten days before the tournament start as per the FIFA regulations.

Herve Renard’s contract run until the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics, and he said the aim was to reach the semi-finals of both tournament. It will not be easy at all considering the strength of the opposition in both tournament. The pressure is certainly on him and mainly on the players who managed to get Corinne Diacre sacked and questions will be asked if the team fails to win again.

Update 25 May.

Delphine Cascarino and Kessya Bussy are out of the tournament due to injuries. The squad announcement will take place on 6 June.

Update 26 May

Le Parisien reports Marie-Antoinette Katoto will not be ready for the World Cup. The article also mentions that Griedge M’Bock Bathy is even further away from fitness than Katoto. https://www.leparisien.fr/sports/football/psg/equipe-de-france-feminine-katoto-vers-un-forfait-pour-la-coupe-du-monde-26-05-2023-ACUWUS5RKRF57H4VEOTENDXI3E.php?at_creation=Le%20Parisien%20|%20PSG&at_campaign=Partage%20Twitter%20CM&at_medium=Social%20media and https://www.flashscore.fr/actualites/football-coupe-du-monde-femmes-bleues-katoto-au-mondial-on-va-se-donner-toutes-les-chances-dit-herve-renard-a-l-afp/WYtXQdae/

Herve Renard should announce an extended squad on 6 June with more than 23 players.

France Nations’ League and Euro qualifiers dates announced

New UEFA competition starting next September making it a busy calendar for our national team

The Nations League schedule is now out and France will be play their six group games at the following dates:

France – Portugal 22 September 23 to be played at Valenciennes, Stade du Hainault
Austria – France 26 September 23
Norway – France 27 October 23
France – Norway 31 October 23 to be played at Reims, Stade Auguste-Delaune
France – Austria 30 November 23 to be played at Rennes, Roazhon Park
Portugal – France 5 December 23

Should France make it to the finals by winning the group, they will be played between 21 and 28 February 24. Should France not make the Nations League finals, they will play a home friendly in Sochaux, Stade Bonal.

Should France finish in the bottom two teams: all fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B, as well as the lowest-ranked third-placed team in League B, will be relegated to the next league. The third-placed teams in League A play matches against the League B runners-up, with the winners playing in League A and the defeated teams in League B.

The Nations League also act as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics. France automatically qualify as host with UEFA getting three slots overall that will be attributed to the Nations League finalists. Or to the third place play-off winner should France make the Nations League final.

It is also important to note that the Euro qualifiers will start straightaway after the Nations League finishes.

And there we have a huge problem in term of players welfare when you look at the UEFA calendar 2023/24 and the FIFA international calendar .

Euro qualifiers Matchday 1-2: 01-09 April 24

Euro qualifiers Matchday 3-4: 27 May- 04 Jun 24

Euro qualifiers Matchday 5-6: 08 – 16 July 24

Teams then will go straight into the Paris Olympics 25 July – 10 August 24.

Autumn 2024 will see the Euro play-offs take place as follows:

Direct qualification for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025

The final European Qualifiers league ranking will reward the eight top teams in League A with direct qualification for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025. If hosts Switzerland have not qualified automatically, they will be guaranteed a slot.

European Qualifiers play-offs for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025

The remaining slots will be contested over two rounds of home-and-away European Qualifiers play-offs. The play-off path illustrated below may be adjusted to take into account the performance of the team(s) of the host association(s).

In the first round, the teams finishing third and fourth in League A will play the winners and three best-ranked runners-up in League C. The eight winners progress to the second round.

The four group winners and two best-ranked runners-up in League B will be drawn into six ties against the remaining two runners-up and four third-placed teams in League B. The six winners progress to the second round.

In the second round, the teams will be drawn into seven ties, with the seven winners progressing to the final tournament.

Play-offs first round dates: 21 – 29 October 24

Play-offs second round dates: 25 November – 03 December 24

At that point, all 16 teams that have qualified for the Euro 25 will be known.

Then there will be 3 international windows between January and June 25, where teams will be able to play up to seven friendlies overall. Basically the same situation we have right-now pre-world cup where teams have only played friendlies between Jan 23 and July 23.

TV rights for French women’s football are now on sale

Bids are now open with a closing date of 4th of May.

The rights for France Women national teams and the D1 Arkema are to be sold for the 2023/24 to 2026/27 period, while the rights for for the Trophee des Championnes are to be sold for 2024 to 2026. The rights for this trophy have already been sold for 2023.

During the recent press conference, Jean-Michel Aulas who is one of the four members of the women’s football committee mentioned that D1 Arkema teams will have to play a minimum of three games in their “premium” stadium during the season, in order to improve the quality offered to the viewers. 

The current tv right holder Canal Plus had also asked to have stadiums with a covered stand. Yes not all the clubs in D1 have one! A platform for the tv crews, as they have to build one from scratch at certain grounds, minimum lighting and quality pitches. Those are basic tv requests that have not been fulfilled in the last couple of  seasons.

The FFF has split the  tv rights in six packages:

France Women National Team one package  for 2023/24 to 2026/27

10 to 14 games per season.

Euro 2025 in Switzerland qualifiers. FIFA World Cup 2027 qualifiers.

Pre-Olympics 2024 friendlies. France are already qualified as hosts.

Nations League 2024 from Septembre 2023 with the final four games in February 2024, should France make it.

Must be on free to air tv.

D1 Arkema four packages for 2023/24 to 2026/27 including one for the newly created play-offs.

Up to 100% of the available 132 games

Four play-off games. Semi-finals, final and third place play-off that decides the last champions league place.

10 games that must be on free to air tv.

Trophee des Championnes one package for three years 2024,2025 and 2026

This is the game between the D1 Arkema winner and the French women’s Cup winner.

Game must be shown on free to air tv.

The FFF is clearly trying to improve a product that they have struggled to promote very well.  It will be interesting to see if there are many bids and if the rights sell for a good price. It is hard to gauge the demand with the games currently being shown on pay tv Canal Plus. Getting free to view tv channels interested is not an easy task.

For more information in French:

https://www.footofeminin.fr/Droits-TV-Les-appels-d-offres-lances_a18516.html

Corinne Diacre names her squad for the Mexico friendly

The France manager has called up a new player forward Clara Mateo who won the U-19 Euros in 2016 and called back midfielder Kenza Dali who had been out of the squad for a long time due to injuries. There is no current U-20 player called up.

2018/19 is a big season for France with the World cup at home in June being the target and many players will hope to make the final 23 players squad, as it is clearly not settled yet for a good number of places.

The Mexico game squad is as follows

GK : Benameur, Bouhaddi, Durand
DF : Debever, Karchaoui, Majri, Mbock, Périsset, Renard, Torrent
MF : Bilbault, Diallo, Diani, Geyoro, Henry, Toletti
FW : Asseyi, D.Cascarino, Dali, Le Sommer, Matéo, Sarr, Thiney

GK  it is quite obvious that Bouhaddi will be there with her experience in the game, Benameur could get the number 1 shirt though, the hierarchy is not decided yet. Durand is the current number three goalie, but Chavas with the U-20 team right now might come into the equation later.

RB Torrent has the shirt and Perisset is her understudy at the moment

LB Majri is the number one choice with Karchaoui her back-up. U-20 players Bacha and Baltimore might offer an alternative later in the season, if one of the two  main players performance level drops.

CB Renard and M’Bock Bathy are certainties to go to the World Cup, except for an injury of course, Debever is in the squad, she was a very late call up at age 29 last season. It will be interesting to see what Tounkara does at Athletico Madrid this season.

CM Henry and Geyoro will make the final squad, Diallo has been a constant choice from Diacre for a while now. Bilbault is a defensive midfielder who will compete for a fringe player place, while Toletti will certainly try to grab an attacking midfielder spot with players like Lavogez and Corboz also vying for a squad place.

Wingers Le Sommer is used there by Diacre rather than in the middle and is more or less the only winger guaranteed to be there in June. Asseyi has been a regular call-up under Diacre mainly in a substitute role. Can she fight the competition of Diani and Cascarino who have both failed so far to show any real consistency overall. Both are skillful but do not show it often enough with France. Dali has just been called back into the squad, it will be interesting to see where she fits in.

Centre forwards newcomer Mateo played fr all the youth national teams with success. Sarr has been a regular as well under Diacre but not consistent so far. Thiney of course, is a very experienced players in a team that does not hold many of them.  U-20 players Katoto and Delabre could be called up in the next squad depending on how they perform with their clubs, especially Katoto who has a huge potential.

There is no doubt that from the 23 players list a good number of those will be in the final world Cup squad. But there will be  a lot of places also up for grabs  now and throughout the season.

With a home World Cup to come, the pressure will be huge for the manager, staff and players to win the trophy and mental strength has not always been a feature in France’s previous tournament alongside the lack of clinical finishing of course.

Ticketing for the FIFA U-20 World Cup now open

The first ticketing phase for the FIFA U-20 WWC in France has now opened with a pre-sale for VISA card holders.

For the England fans who want to watch the group stage games and then the knock-out stage here are the single ticket prices :

Group Stage ( group B)

Koread DPR v England Sun 05 Aug  in Dinan-Lehon  16 and 20€ ( seated)

Brazil v England  Wed 08 Aug in Dinan-Lehon  16 and 20€ ( seated)

England v Mexico* Sun 12 Aug in Saint-Malo  10€  ( standing ) and 20€  ( seated)

 

*All games are double headers and this ticket includes Netherlands v France where the home fans might buy a lot of tickets, that is the FFF aim obviously.

 

Knock-out stage

 

Quarter-finals

1A v 2B  Thu 16 Aug in Concarneau  16€  ( standing) and 26€ ( seated)

1B v 2A Fri 17 Aug in Vannes 14, 20 and 26€ ( seated)

 

Semi-finals

Mon 20 Aug in Vannes 18, 24, 28 €  (seated)

 

3^rd place play-off and final

Fri 24 Aug in Vannes  20, 26, 30 € ( seated)

 

There are also city related packages for the fans who want to see all the games at a specific location.

 

 

 

Here is a reminder of the full schedule :

The link to buy the tickets is here :

Fans have to register to the website as usual before buying the tickets. Most tickets have to  to be collected at the venues before the games except in Vannes, where e-tickets are available.

Corinne Diacre names her first France squad

Corinne Diacre has named her first squad for France’s friendlies against Chile and Spain. As World Cup host, France will have two years to prepare for the tournament by playing friendlies only.

As expected some veterans have been left out as the coach is looking towards the future. The golden generation that failed to win a medal in the last eight years is now making way for the new players, who will hopefully bring success to the team after winning multiple trophies with the youth teams.  Two players have announced their international retirement: Camille Abily straight after the Euros and Elodie Thomis who made the announcement last night on her Instagram.

Let’s have a look at the squad line by line and the main changes from the Euros.

GK: Sarah Bouhaddi, Meline Gerard, Solene Durand.

Gerard has now moved on to Montpellier from Lyon and should therefore compete for the starting spot with Sarah Bouhaddi. As a knock-on effect of this move, Laetitia Phillipe who used to be France number 3 keeper and starter at Montpellier is not selected  any more. Her former deputy at Montpellier Solene Durand who has moved to Guingamp in the summer is now on the list.

DF: Hawa Cissokho, Laura Georges, Thea Greboval, Sakina Karchaoui, Charlotte Lorgere, Griedge M’Bock Bathy, Wendie Renard, Marion Torrent.

From the Euro squad, Eve Perisset, Aissatou Tounkara and Jessica Houara-D’Hommeau are left out.  Perisset is dropped while the other two are injured. Three new capped players come in for them: Hawa Cissokho, Thea Greboval and Charlotte Lorgere. Hawa Cissokho and Thea Greboval won the U19 Euros last season and were runner-up at the U20 World Cup. Charlotte Lorgere has gone through the youth teams with 39 caps at U16 to U20 level and ten for the B team.  Veteran Laura Georges is still in the squad, while Marion Torrent might finally get a chance to prove herself at right-back.

MF: Elise Bussaglia, Camille Catala, Grace Geyoro, Amandine Henry, Ines Jaurena, Sandie Toletti.

Camille Abily has retired from international duty and Claire Lavogez who is currently injured are the two Euros midfielders missing out. Camille Catala is selected as midfielder, as she was under Bruno Bini, when Corinne Diacre was his assistant, rather than the back-up of the back-up at centre forward like at the Euros. Veteran Elise Bussagglia is kept in the squad probably to provide guidance and experience. Ines Jaurena returns after a long absence from the team.

FW : Viviane Asseyi, Kadidiatou Diani, Valerie Gauvin, Eugenie Le Sommer, Perle Morroni, Ouleymata Sarr.

Clarisse Le Bihan, Gaetane Thiney and Marie-Laure Delie are dropped, Elodie Thomis has retired. Those four players were at the Euros in Netherlands and are replaced by youngsters Perle Morroni and Ouleymata Sarr (who has scored a hat-trick in the season opener with LOSC) and also players who have already been called in the past, but were not regulars in the squad, like Viviane Asseyi and Valerie Gauvin. Kadidiatou Diani and Eugenie Le Sommer are the only forward to stay in the squad following another tournament where scoring was again a problem.

Amel Majri who missed out on the Euros is still not fit and therefore not selected, as is Delphine Cascarino who is coming back from a long term injury.

France will play Chile in Caen on Friday the 15^th of September with a 9pm CET kick off and Spain on the 18^th of September in Calais with 9pm CET kick-off as well.  We might see a lot of new players being capped in one of those friendlies and we will see what kind of tactical options Corinne Diacre will select. We can probably expect a less defence and physical strength orientated team. It should be more creative  than under Phillipe Bergeroo and Olivier Echouafni.

 

France 1 Iceland 0, 3 points and many questions but few answers

A 1-0 victory with a late penalty from Le Sommer means France start the Euros with a precious win, but will have to go back to the drawing board before the Austria game.

France started in a 4-2-3-1 system with Le Sommer as the lone striker, Thomis on the right side and Le Bihan on the left side. Abily was the playmaker with Bussaglia and Henry behind her.  Houara, Georges preferred to M’Bock bathy, Renard and Karchaoui. Bouhaddi was in goal as usual.

The first point to mention is how much influence the referee has on the game. She was quite lenient forgetting to whistle penalties, yellow cards, a red card and was inconsistent as well with her bookings.

She let so many things go unpunished on both side, that it was no surprise to see a French player being subbed after being injured with a twisted ankle. Talking about not controlling a game and favoring physical play rather than football, it was another typical example of those kind of games.

It is quite clear that with a different referee, who would have been stricter and fully applying the LOTG, the game would have been played differently. I note that the VAR would also have changed the game, fouls in the penalty area ignored by the referee with fouls on both side that could have been  seen and punished.

It is funny to note that Henry to win the decisive penalty had to clearly show the referee that she was being held to get the foul, otherwise it would not have been given, as it happened in the first half of the game.

External factor aside, it was certainly not a great performance from France, way too many technical mistakes on the final ball and passes. Against a team playing physically and pushing you in virtual and real sense, you can either raise your physical level to start a trench battle but it  would means no football being played. And with a random decision making referee, it can quickly lead to being red carded without warning.

Or you can try to play better football, go round the opposition defense and that was the logical option. So France kept trying to breach the Icelandic defense without much success, because the technical link between players was not there.

Some players under performed, others clearly lacked match sharpness, the speed of play and passing precision was missing in the final third for Les Bleues against a tight defensive block. It is not easy at all to go through or around such a good defense, but having Le Sommer as a lone striker was not great.

In the end France finished the game with four attacking players Diani, Delie, Thiney, le Sommer plus Abily and Henry in midfield and having numbers up front certainly helped.  .

Credit to the players for battling until the end of a poor game in term of team performance. Some individuals shone throughout the game, but many players were just average or below average and will need to raise their level against Austria.

At the end of the day, Iceland had a clear gameplan to disrupt the French attacking game and it worked well, while France had a gameplan and did not apply it to the best of their technical ability.

Attacking football in the end prevailed, but it was very close to another failure and 1-0 defeat as we have seen many through the years for France. There will be work to do in training to try to solve the problems as the next game against Ausria is likely to follow the same scenario.

 

France make one change for the Euro 2017 squad, what are the tactical consequences?

On deadline day, Olivier Echouafni has been forced to withdraw Amel Majri and replace her with Clarisse Le Bihan as the OL winger’s ankle injury did not heal quickly enough.

A sad news, as Majri was one of the rare left-footed player in the France squad alongside Karchaoui and it is likely to upset the balance of the team. There is a risk of seeing the left-wing barely used in attacking schemes, if the right player coupled with the right tactic is not selected.

 

The full squad list :

GK (3) : Sarah Bouhaddi (OL), Méline Gérard (OL), Laëtitia Philippe (Montpellier),

DF (7) : Laura Georges (PSG), Jessica Houara d’Hommeaux (OL), Sakina Karchaoui (Montpellier), Griedge Mbock (OL), Ève Perisset (PSG), Wendie Renard (OL), Aissatou Tounkara (Juvisy)

MF (8) : Camille Abily (OL), Élise Bussaglia (Wolfsburg), Grace Geyoro (PSG), Amandine Henry (Portland), Claire Lavogez (OL),  Clarisse Le Bihan (MHSC), Gaëtane Thiney (Juvisy), Sandie Toletti (Montpellier)

FW (5) : Camille Catala (Juvisy), Marie-Laure Delie (PSG), Kadidiatou Diani (Juvisy), Eugénie Le Sommer (OL), Elodie Thomis (OL)

Now the question is how will the coach balance the side to avoid having a weaken left side? We know a right-footed player will play on the left-wing and the majority of them will come inside leaving a long corridor for Karchaoui to run into the space.

 

Let’s have a look at the tactical options chosen by Echouafni since he took over from Bergeroo:

France Brazil 4-4-2 system no Majri, Lavogez left-wing, Thiney Le Sommer up front

France Albania 3-5-2 no Majri, Karchaoui left wing-back, Le Sommer Le Bihan up front

England France 4-4-2 Majri left-back, Lavogez left-wing, Le Sommer Thiney up front

France Spain 3-4-1-2 Majri left wing-back, Thiney at 10, Le Sommer Delie up front

France South Africa 4-2-3-1 Majri left-wing, Abily at 10, Le Sommer up front

England France 4-4-2 no Majri, Lavogez left-wing, Thiney Delie up front

France Germany 4-2-3-1 Majri left-wing, Abily at 10, Le Sommer right-wing Delie up front

USA France 4-3-3-Majri left-wing, Toletti at 10, Le Sommer up front

Nethelands France 4-4-2 Majri left-wing, Le Sommer Thiney up front

 

So what we can we guess from the games and tactics ?

If a back 3 is used Karchaoui will be the left-wing back number one choice with Perisset the second choice.

If there is a back 4, Karchaoui will again be the first choice left-back with Perisset as a second choice and Houara as a third choice.

Now, we know that a right footed player will play on the left-wing and it is a problem well known to France as seen with the men’s team at Euro 2004. Jacques Santini used to put Zidane there to combine with Lizarazu’s overlap.

So it looks like Claire Lavogez will fill up that Zidane role with Karchaoui her sidekick the same way as Lizarazu was for the playmaker. Now, it is quite clear that Lavogez recent performances in the France shirt have been a it underwhelming.

There is no doubt that if she is selected as a starter due to Majri’s injury, she will need to find her form and express herself as part of the team, otherwise we know that the ball will tend to go towards the centre of the pitch with Henry, Abily or Bussaglia and then towards the right wing with Thomis or Diani will be using their speed to create chances.

Another option is to use the 4-3-3 system and have Le Sommer as the left-winger with Thiney or Delie as the lone striker, an option that would bring some question mark about the finishing.

To be fair, none of the main strikers who have been around for many tournaments have managed to lead France to even a tournament final. While, goalscoring should not depend on them obviously, it is quite obvious that playing Le Sommer on the wing would not be the greatest idea.

Looking back at the 2011 World Cup, Thiney was used on the left-wing by Bruno Bini but it does nt look like an option used at all by Olivier Echouafni.

Then you have Majri’s replacement Clarisse Le Bihan who mainly featured under Bergeroo as the Thiney replacement when the Juvisy player was exiled with the MHSC forward playing in the same role and even getting her shirt number.

She is another central player like the other seven midfielders selected by the manager, so she is defnitely not a like for like replacement for Majri.

Everythig points to Lavogez being the “natural” replacement for Majri in the starting 11 and it will mean the players in the left side corridor Karchaoui, Lavogez and Le Sommer will have to work it out together. For example, when to drift inside for Lavogez and drift outside for Le Sommer, while combining those movements with Karchaoui’s forward run.

Olivier Echouafni has two friendly games against Belgium and Norway to find the right formula and balance, before the opening game against Iceland in Tilburg on the 18th of July.

France players for the 2017 Euros and their previous tournament experience

Olivier Echouafni has named his 23+6 reserves squad for the UEFA 2017 Euros to be played next month in the Netherlands.  Here we will look at how much tournament experience the France squad has gathered through the years.

 

The full squad list :

GK (3) : Sarah Bouhaddi (OL), Méline Gérard (OL), Laëtitia Philippe (Montpellier),

DF (7) : Laura Georges (PSG), Jessica Houara d’Hommeaux (OL), Sakina Karchaoui (Montpellier), Griedge Mbock (OL), Ève Perisset (PSG), Wendie Renard (OL), Aissatou Tounkara (Juvisy)

MF (8) : Camille Abily (OL), Élise Bussaglia (Wolfsburg), Grace Geyoro (PSG), Amandine Henry (Portland), Claire Lavogez (OL), Amel Majri (OL), Gaëtane Thiney (Juvisy), Sandie Toletti (Montpellier)

FW (5) : Camille Catala (Juvisy), Marie-Laure Delie (PSG), Kadidiatou Diani (Juvisy), Eugénie Le Sommer (OL), Elodie Thomis (OL)

Reserves : Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (OM), Marion Torrent (MHSC), Aminata Diallo (PSG), Clarisse Le Bihan (MHSC), Valérie Gauvin (MHSC), Mylaine Tarrieu (OL)

 

Here are the players that played in the previous  international  competitions

World Cup 2003 (1): Laura Georges

Euro 2009 (7): Laura Georges, Camille Abily, Elise Bussaglia, Amandine Henry, Gaetane Thiney, Eugenie Le Sommer, Elodie Thomis

World Cup 2011(9) : Wendie Renard, Laura Georges, Eugenie Le Sommer, Camille Abily, Elodie Thomis, Elise Bussaglia, Gaetane Thiney, Marie-Laure Delie, Laetitia Phillipe

Olympic Games 2012 (10+1) : Sarah Bouhaddi, Laura Georges, Wendie Renard, Camille Abily, Elise Bussaglia, Camille Catala, Gaetane Thiney, Marie-Laure Delie, Eugenie Le Sommer, Elodie Thomis, Laetitia Phillipe*

Euro 2013 (12) : Sarah Bouhaddi, Wendie Renard, Laura Georges, Jessica Houara, Elise Bussaglia, Amandine Henry, Camille Catala, Camille Abily, Eugenie Le Sommer, Elodie Thomis, Gaetane Thiney, Marie-Laure Delie

World Cup 2015 (16): Sarah Bouhaddi, Meline Gerard, Laura Georges, Jessica Houara, Amel Majri, Griedge M’Bock Bathy, Wendie Renard, Camille Abily, Elise Bussaglia, Amandine Henry, Claire Lavogez, Elodie Thomis, Marie -Laure Delie,  Kadidiatou Diani, Gaetane Thiney, Eugenie Le Sommer

Olympic Games 2016 (15+1): Sarah Bouhaddi, Meline Gerard, Griedge M’Bock Bathy, Wendie Renard, Sakina Karchaoui, Amandine Henry, Amel Majri, Jessica Houara, Eugenie le Sommer, Camille Abily, Claire Lavogez, Elodie Thomis, Kadidiatou Diani, Elise Bussaglia, Marie-Laure Delie, Laetitia Phillipe*, Sandie Toletti **

*alternate at the London and Rio Olympics did not play

** alternate at the Rio Olympics did not play

 

The player with the most experience is Laura Georges with 7 tournaments played so far.

The we have a quartet of Camille Abily, Elise Bussaglia, Eugenie Le Sommer and Elodie Thomis with 6 tournaments played.

Gaetane Thiney , Wendie Renard, Marie-Laure Delie all come next with 5 tournaments

Amandine Henry and Sarah Bouhaddi have been selected in  4 tournaments

Jessica Houara has taken part in 3 tournaments

Camille Catala, Meline Gerard, Amel Majri, Griedge M’Bock-Bathy,  Claire Lavogez, Kadidiatout Diani have played in  2 tournaments

Sakina Karchaoui has played 1 tournament

Laetitia Phillipe has taken part in 1 tournament but was an alternate twice at the London and Rio Olympics.

Eve Perisset, Aissatou Tounkara, Grace Geyoro and Sandie Toletti who was an alternate at the Rio Olympics will take part in their first senior tournament.

 

If we compare the squad to the one from the  last tournament played, the Rio Olympics last year (with 18 players) Sabrina Delannoy and Louisa Cadamuro have retired from football, while Kheira Hamraoui lost her way by moving from PSG to Lyon and ended up with little to nearly no playing time and lost her place to Grace Geyoro.

If we compare the squad to the last tournament with 23 players ie the 2015 World Cup in Canada : Celine Deville, Laure Boulleau, Sabrina Delannoy, Kenza Dali, Louisa Cadamuro, Annaig Butel and Kheira Hamraoui are not there.

 

So the France WNT are clearly one the favourite to win the 2017 Euros, but we know that they need to solve their mental weakness problem and they also need to be able to finish their chances when it matters. And it shows in their final games in the last tournaments.

Euro 2009 :  lost on penalties to Netherland in QF 0-0 at full time

WC 2011 : lost to the USA 4-2 in the SF,  lost 2-1 to Sweden in 3rd place play-off

OG 2012 : lost to Japan 2-1 in SF, lost 1-0 to Canada in 3rd place play-off

Euro 2013 : lost to Denmark on penalties in QF 1-1 at full-time

World Cup 2015 : lost to Germany on penalties in QF 1-1 at full time

OG 2016 : lost to Canada 1-0 in QF