At the start of its preparation for the World Cup in Finland and Latvia (May 12-28), the France team suffered a second defeat against Switzerland on Saturday in Lausanne (6-0). Philippe Bozon’s players, who had held up well against the Helvetians the day before in Visp (2-1), this time completely took on the water against a superiorly armed opponent (7th in the International Federation rankings, six ranks ahead of France 13th).
The Blues, with a group still very incomplete (like Switzerland), were led to the score from the 3rd minute. After failing to equalize in a head-to-head loss by Peter Valier against Swiss goalkeeper Connor Hughes, they conceded two more goals on the power play, then gave up three times in the final third.
Blue attack silenced
Sebastian Ylönen did his best in front of the tricolor cage (30 saves), but the waves continued to follow one another (36 shots on target for the Swiss – and 18 off target -, against only 19 on the French side). In attack, his teammates were unable to avoid the shutout (game without a goal scored), despite four minutes of numerical superiority during the second period.
France will play its next two friendly matches on Friday April 28 and Saturday April 29 in Cergy-Pontoise against Slovenia, a rival more at its height. Several executives are expected to return on this occasion. The Blues will enter the World Cup on May 13 in Tampere against Austria, an already crucial meeting for maintaining them in the elite.