Les Bleues won Thursday in Dublin (3-0) against the Irish thanks to a double from Maëlle Lakrar in a rather messy match marked by the withdrawal of midfielder Amandine Henry, two days before the big departure for Australia for the FIFA Cup. world.
The match at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, sold out (7,600 people) in the rain and the Irish wind, was intended to concretize the preparation for the World Cup, launched more than two weeks ago for the players of Hervé Renard. And tweak the details.
In the first half, he was especially able to show the difficulties in defense, often jostled and in midfield, in transitions, while in front, Eugénie Le Sommer touched very few balls.
“We are gaining momentum. There will inevitably be waste, when you play against an opponent, you may repeat certain things in training, it’s different. There will be things to improve, that’s why we do this kind of match, “said Blue captain Wendie Renard on Thursday at a press conference on Wednesday.
Faced with a compact and high block, the French women struggled to build and lacked intensity, causing the annoyance of Hervé Renard. Because the Blues could have been led if a goal from the Greens had not been refused for offside. “More intensity”, “get moving”, repeated the coach several times from the bench during the first 40 minutes.
Three out of three for Fox
Les Bleues listened to her and accelerated by stinging the Irish on two occasions in quick succession at the very end of the period.
Montpellier defender Maëlle Lakrar, 23, scored her first goal for her third start in the French colors after one of the first French breakthroughs in the opposing area (45th + 1). Two minutes later, Eugénie Le Sommer, discreet until then, scored her 89th goal for the French team after a fine collective movement (45+3).
In the second half, Les Bleues and Lakrar stayed on track, carried by the wind on their side. On a corner well taken by Kenza Dali, the Montpellier defender headed the ball well for a double. And scoring points for Oceania. It is therefore the third victory in three matches for the coach, after the two performances in April, against the Canadians, Olympic champions in title (2-1), and against Colombia (5-2).
Henry probably “unavailable” for the World Cup
The shadow on the board comes rather from the bench: midfielder Amandine Henry, back after two years of absence, was forfeited for a calf pain, and risks missing the World Cup.
“It will be difficult now, we will say that it was the worst time for it to happen”, declared Hervé Renard. “It’s fate, there will be the MRI tomorrow (Friday, editor’s note) but normally we know what to expect, it will be unavailability, it will have to be replaced”, added the coach of the Blues.
It was he who recalled Henry in Blue, ending the disgrace in which the previous coach, Corinne Deacon, had plunged her. Aïssatou Tounkara, dismissed on Tuesday, would therefore return to the group of 23.
In his notebook, Hervé Renard has undoubtedly laid down many observations to go over for the next two weeks. The analysis will be crucial, as Les Bleues fly to Australia on Saturday, where they will face the host country in a friendly on July 14 in Melbourne. The start of the World Cup is scheduled for July 23 in Sydney against… Australia.