The deliverance was delayed, but the joy was all the more beautiful. Pushed into extra time despite a royal performance and constant domination, the players of the France team ended up overcoming the Netherlands (1-0) on Saturday evening to qualify for the semi-finals. of the Euro. After failing every time in the quarterfinals for the past ten years, Les Bleues finally have their ticket to the last four. Foot.
“There is satisfaction already, and a lot of pride, savors coach Corinne Deacon. This group went looking for something important. He could have let go because he gave a lot, tried a lot, and what I liked was that he didn’t let go. »
Indeed, it took patience to dismiss the reigning European champions and vice-world champions. During the 90 minutes of regulation time, the Bleues evolved ten feet above their opponents, created 1,000 chances with in particular the untenable wingers Delphine Cascarino and Kadidiatou Diani, but constantly came up against their inefficiency, the post or the impressive goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar (10 saves).
” Go until the end “
“It was very hard against the French transition game. We can thank our goalkeeper, she made a world-class performance, undoubtedly the best goalkeeper of this Euro”, greeted her coach Mark Parsons after the meeting. But she ended up cracking up.
Unable to score in the game, the French found the fault on the penalty spot. The metronome Clara Matéo, which came into play a few minutes earlier, sent Diani to be hooked in the area. Captain Wendie Renard, a usual shooter but unsuccessful during the group stage against Belgium, left it to Eve Périsset to free Les Bleues (102nd). Finally ! “It was a party in the locker room. We sang, we danced, says Diani. We go back in history a bit. But the best thing is to go all the way and pass this stage of the semi-finals. »
Because the last four, however beautiful, was only the initial objective of this team, expected for years at other heights. “It’s only a step, hammered Corinne Deacon at a press conference. We really want to go to this final. “For that, it will be necessary to dismiss Germany, the biggest winners at the Euro (eight titles) and the defense so far impregnable (four games, four victories and no goals conceded).
“We expect a difficult match, recognizes Sandie Toletti. They are a physical team that play the ball well. It’s going to be a big game. We will prepare as well as possible to face them. “And above all recover well, since the Blue will play Wednesday with two days less rest compared to their opponents. “When you win, you always recover faster, plays down the coach. It’s the calendar, it’s like that, we’ll adapt. We will first recover and then prepare for the match from tomorrow [dimanche]. After having taken this often unfortunate step, everything is now possible.