For their first official final, the Blues challenge Spain, the reigning world champion, on Wednesday, supported by their Barcelona stars.
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The best for last. In search of the first title in its history, the French team travels to Seville on Wednesday February 28 to face the Spanish world champions in the Nations League final. After finally “defeated the German sign” (2-1), according to the coach, Hervé Renard, the Blues can definitively mark their move to the next level during this duel against the first nation in the Fifa ranking.
Never qualified for a final of a major tournament in fifty-three years of history, the French team now wants to transform the test. “We dream of playing finals like this, we are all novicesjubilant Eugénie Le Sommer, exhausted after the victory against Germany on Friday. I have experienced club finals, we will try to draw the experience from these big matches. With our team, we can face a lot of situations.” “We are facing the world champions, who have been intractable for several months. It’s a magnificent challenge”underlined the coach in Lyon.
A simple glance at the podium of the last three editions of the Ballon d’Or is enough to understand what awaits its protégés on the sunny banks of the Guadalquivir. Certainly, double Ballon d’Or Alexia Putellas, not quite recovered from an injury to her left knee, is uncertain. But the offensive Aitana Bonmati, Jennifer Hermoso and Salma Paralluelo (respectively winner of the trophy in 2023, second in 2021 and third in 2023) will be present at the La Cartuja stadium, supported by the majority of the group crowned in Australia last summer.
France undefeated in the confrontation
Despite Spain’s status as a scarecrow, France has no need to have any complexes. Since the post-Covid recovery, the two nations have had comparable records, with only five losses in more than 50 matches. “Spain was the team I wanted to face, we will do everything to win, rejoiced Sakina Karchaoui, upon learning that La Roja had swept the Netherlands in the other semi-final (3-0). The victory against Germany sends a strong signal to the whole world: the French team is there, we will be present.”
“For me, the team that wins on Wednesday is European champion.”
Eugénie Le Sommer, captain of the French teamat a press conference
“Whoever says final means raising your level of play. It’s obligatory. We’re going to have to be more aggressive and more efficient, because we might have fewer chances. We’ll have to put them in the deep end.”, warns midfielder Grace Geyoro. Faithful to the precepts of Iberian football, Spain uses a possession game that the Blues are not used to facing. If they have never lost in 13 matches against La Roja (10 wins, 3 draws), the French have however not faced them since 2019.
But not enough to scare a mocking Hervé Renard on the eve of the event. “Possession is good when it is effective. Against Italy, you had 70% possession, but they won [2-3, le 1er décembre]“, he reminded a Spanish journalist. “It’s tiki-taka, they like to keep the ball and play in small spaces,” analyzed Selma Bacha in the mixed zone after the victory against Germany.
An eleven likely renewed
On paper, this Spain-France therefore promises a nice opposition of styles with the Blues evolving in transition. And this, especially since the two teams are 100% focused on winning the trophy, without any additional issues, the Montse Tomé players having punched their ticket to the Olympic Games by beating the Netherlands. In a perfect final to gauge his troops for the Games, Hervé Renard must renew the same eleven as against Germany.
In defense, the Griedge Mbock-Maëlle Lakrar pair gave complete satisfaction in the absence of Wendie Renard. Muzzled and less visible than her offensive partners on Friday, Marie-Antoinette Katoto seems unstoppable, given her ability to make the difference at any time. As Andalusians celebrate their region’s autonomy on Wednesday with a public holiday, the Spanish Federation expects the poster to break a new attendance record at the Olympic Stadium. It’s up to the French women to put on the heating blue to spoil the locals’ party, who are just waiting to blush with pleasure.