The France team during the World Cup round of 16 match against Morocco, at the Hindmarsh stadium in Adelaide (Australia), August 8, 2023. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
The time for the passing exam has come for Hervé Renard, four months after his arrival at the head of Les Bleues. The future of the Savoyard technician as coach depends on the outcome of the quarter-final against Australia, Saturday August 12 in Brisbane (9 am, Aix-les-Bains time). Either the French women’s football team will fulfill its official goal of reaching the last four in the world, or it will fail for the third consecutive edition of a World Cup at this stage.
There is a bit of cruelty in judging the success of a new adventure by the outcome of a single match, but such is high-level sport, a realm of ferocity where you can fall from your pedestal in the blink of an eye. ‘eye. Awaiting this first judgment – the one on appeal is scheduled for a year from now at the Paris Olympics – this Hervé Renard version of France’s team has been exhaling a feeling of rediscovered unity since the start of the tournament. Captain Wendie Renard’s teammates are gaining confidence with each encounter.
Their trainer is no stranger to this conquering attitude. “Today I’m with one of the best women’s teams in the world, he asserts. You don’t have to be afraid of anyone. They [les joueuses françaises] trust us [le staff] and we trust them. » Right side of the Bleues who started the competition on the bench, Eve Périsset chained three meetings as a starter and embodies this state of mind: “The defeat, I can’t imagine it at all. Everyone wants to go all the way and I think we have the qualities to do so. »
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At the Brisbane Stadium, which will be full with 50,000 spectators won over to the cause of the host country, the French players will plunge back into the big pool of a World Cup, after two meetings with a less intense atmosphere against Panama and Morocco. “That’s why we do this job, I said it before Brazil [le 28 juillet] when 90% of the audience was Brazilian. That didn’t stop the France team from having a great game.”observes Hervé Renard.
Home advantage for Australia
His players have been warned. “Saturday, the atmosphere will be against us, we must not have burning feet”, warns midfielder Kenza Dali. But all of them are eager to find out: “There is always pressure in the World Cup, that’s what makes us surpass ourselves. These are magical moments to live.believes Eugenie Le Sommer. “We arrive in the moments we prefer, the knockout matches”confirms Eve Périsset.
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