We won’t say that it’s enough to cause sleepless nights, but all the same, the French team could have been a little better off for the next Euro, especially when we see the fate reserved for Belgium (Romania , Slovenia and a roadblock team). The draw carried out on Saturday evening in Hamburg therefore placed the Blues in group D, along with the Netherlands, Austria and the nation which will emerge victorious from the play-offs between Poland, Wales, Finland and ‘Estonia.
“We inherited a solid group,” believes Didier Deschamps. The coach, recovering from back surgery, was not present in Germany but he obviously followed it all closely. He had noted that the method chosen to develop the hats, resulting from the classification of the qualifying phase and not from the Fifa rank, could result in high rankings for everyone. This is how Spain, Croatia and Italy (all three of the top 10 in the Fifa rankings), find themselves together in Group B – yes, there are worse than us too.
For the Blues, the competition will begin on June 17 in Düsseldorf against Austria. “Not a gift,” DD realizes. There is the importance of the first match. Getting into the competition well can determine what happens next. It’s a very athletic team, with good individuals, in full progress. » The coach has a fairly clear memory of the draw conceded in Vienna (1-1) in the Nations League last year: “We were pretty shaken up. »
His deputy Guy Stéphan, who was present in Hamburg, speaks of an “underrated” team. Under the orders of the German Ralf Rangnick (former coach of Leipzig and Manchester United) since April 2022, the Austrians are showing real progress, driven by their leaders David Alaba (Real Madrid), Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund) and Kevin Danso ( Lens). In qualifying, they easily pushed Sweden out of their way and held off Belgium until the end. Distrust, therefore.
“If Poland is added…”
The Netherlands are even better known to the blue services, since they were in the same qualifying group. France demonstrated its superiority by winning both matches, in March at home (4-0) and last month in Amsterdam (1-2). “We know them well and they know us too, they are a great football nation, 6th in the Fifa rankings,” notes Guy Stéphan. We beat them but the fact remains that they are a quality team, who will have revenge against us. »
The Dutch, in full reconstruction, are more dangerous as the months pass. The meeting on June 21 in Leipzig will not be like this year’s. For the last group match, scheduled for June 25 in Dortmund, we will have to wait for the play-offs, played on March 21 and 26, to know the identity of the opponent. “If Poland is added, we will have a very strong group,” Deschamps projects.
Well advanced on base camp
By then, the Blues will surely have found their base camp. According to The Team, which cites sources close to UEFA, the French team has already made good progress and could choose the Best Western Premier Park in Lippspringe, in North Rhine-Westphalia (northwest of the country). Several advantages to this place: all the desired comfort, a stadium with a pitch in excellent condition located 15 minutes by bus (the Paderborn stadium) and not too far from the places where the Blues will play during the first phase.
It will also be necessary to schedule the preparation matches for the competition, in particular those in March, the last rehearsals before the list of selected players. The staff will meet at the beginning of February to finalize all of this and put the Blue in the best conditions to win, three years after the painful memory of this elimination in the round of 16 against Switzerland. “We are approaching this Euro with ambition, determination but also humility,” warns Didier Deschamps.