Delphine Cascarino, a gathering to regain her status?

Returning to competition in January after a serious knee injury, the OL striker has regained her former form and is applying to join the French eleven against Ireland on Friday.

The image of his fatal duel with Elisa De Almeida during a PSG-OL match at the Parc des Princes at the end of May seems a long way away. Victim of a partial rupture of the cruciate ligament in her right knee, which deprived her of the World Cup in Australia and kept her off the field for eight months, Delphine Cascarino is now back at her best level. A good omen for the Blues who begin their qualifying campaign for Euro 2025, Friday April 5 in Metz, with a match against Ireland. But also for her, four months before the Olympic Games.

Since her first minutes of the season played in the Coupe de France against Nantes on January 28, the winger has gained momentum. After pushing the Parisian defense to make a mistake to earn a draw in the D1 Arkema classic (1-1), the 27-year-old was decisive for Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-final of the Champions League against Benfica, where she scored three of the six Rhone goals (2-1, 4-1).

“Delphine, we are lucky to have her with us. She is an exceptional player. In the return match, she also played on the left side, which is not her favorite side, but she was terribly effective [doublé contre les Lisboètes sur deux frappes lointaines]noted coach Hervé Renard when announcing his list last week. We are happy because we saw a Cascarino-Le Sommer-Diani attack, it is only positive for us. It’s up to her to keep this form for the upcoming training course.”

For this April gathering, the technician gave important clues on the offensive front with a view to Paris 2024 (the Blues challenge Colombia, Canada and New Zealand at the end of July). Clara Mateo was not invited, Sandy Baltimore was replaced with the midfielders and Vicki Becho – on the bench in Lyon – leaves a step behind despite a profile that appeals to Hervé Renard. With a view tointegrate the list of 18 names for the Olympics, a quintet holds the rope: besides Kadidiatou Diani, Eugénie Le Sommer and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Delphine Cascarino even seems more immovable than Julie Dufour.

“Associations to change” ahead according to Renard

“It’s healthy competition. To win titles, you need a lot of choice and competition. The more there is, the more the players will give the best of themselves to claim to be in the starting XI. It will raise the level of the team. I will give everything to be part of the eleven”assured Estelle’s sister at the end of March, when she was content to come on during the Final Four of the League of Nations in February.

Not yet at 100%, the native of Saint-Priest was unable to reverse the dynamic of a final dominated by the Spanish (0-2), while Le Sommer, Katoto and Diani were never found. . “If the animation against Spain and part of the second half against Germany in the semi-finals was not at the top, there are things to improve, associations to changerightly recognized Hervé Renard. I think it was a collective problem, there was better to do. We need to find these best possible combinations to perform.”

Delphine Cascarino could thus have an opportunity to show herself against Ireland, the most affordable opponent in a tough group with England and Sweden, respectively second and third in the last World Cup. “We must approach this start of the competition well, keep the positive points in place, and also mention everything that needs to be improved.”explained the coach on Thursday, specifying that“there will be no more typical team on Friday than on Tuesday”, for the trip to the Scandinavians.

To reach the Euro in Switzerland without a hitch, the Blues must finish among the first two, but another result would not condemn them. They would then have more than accessible roadblocks left to redeem their ticket. Even if Hervé Renard recalled that “the priority is qualification for the Euro”, he should take the opportunity to test things in these last six matches before the Games. Among other things, an offensive line with the Lyonnaise.