The return to earth was brutal. At the gates of the final, the French women’s football team lost to Germany (2-1) in the semi-finals on Wednesday July 28. Criticized before the competition, coach Corinne Deacon returned to the competition at a press conference before, already, planning for the future.
What message did you send to the players after this close, disappointing and quite cruel result?
Corinne Deacon: That they had fought well. We gave everything tonight, we fought well but it didn’t pay off, especially in the second half. Efficiency eluded us again tonight. We lacked efficiency, the fact of concretizing our highlights, we had the opportunities. It didn’t want to come in again this evening, we had a lot of difficulties.
The two days less recovery, compared to Germany, could they play?
We saw some French players a little below their usual level. We didn’t give up despite everything. If we had had 48 more hours, we don’t know what the match would have been tonight. We must not take away the performance of this German team which lived up to its rank. We came across a great team, powerful, athletic, efficient.
We didn’t succeed tonight but I’m proud of my players, they didn’t give up
Corinne Deacon, coach of the France teamat Canal +
In terms of good news, it seems that you have a united group, now looking towards the 2023 World Cup?
Not everything is to be thrown away. At instant T, disappointment prevails. You can’t be satisfied with losing. We have built things, there is a solid base. We still need a little time. Tonight was not our night, this competition was perhaps not ours. But in any case, the foundation is solid, we have built something important with a very friendly, hardworking group that does not like to lose. This bodes well for the future.