The Bleues won on Thursday 6 July in Dublin (3-0) against the Irish thanks to Maëlle Lakrar’s brace in a rather messy game marked by the retirement of midfielder Amandine Henry, two days before the big departure for Australia.
The match at Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium, sold out (7,600 people) in the rain and the Irish wind, was supposed to complete the preparation for the World Cup, launched more than two weeks ago for Hervé Renard’s players. And edit the details.
In the first half she was able to show above all the difficulties in defense, often bumped into and in midfield, in transitions, while up front Eugénie Le Sommer touched very few balls.
“We are gaining momentum. There will inevitably be waste, when you play against an opponent, you can repeat certain things in training, it’s different. There will be things to improve, that’s why we play this type of game.Blue captain Wendie Renard said at a press conference on Wednesday.
” Go ahead “
Faced with a compact and high wall, the French women struggle to build and lack intensity, causing Hervé Renard’s annoyance. Because the Blues could have been given the lead if a goal from the Greens hadn’t been rejected for offside.
“More Intensity”, ” Go ahead “, repeated the coach several times from the bench in the first 40 minutes. The Bleues listened to it and accelerated by stinging the Irish on two occasions in rapid succession right at the end of the period.
Montpellier defender Maëlle Lakrar, 23, scored his first goal for his third start in French colors after one of the first French breakthroughs in the opposing box (45th + 1). Two minutes later, Eugénie Le Sommer, discreet until then, scored her 89th goal for the French after a good collective move (45+3).
In the second half Les Bleues and Lakrar stay on track, carried by the wind on their side. From a corner well beaten by Kenza Dalì, the Montpellier defender headed the brace well.
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It is therefore the third victory in three games for the coach, after the two performances in April, against the Canadians, Olympic champions in the title (2-1), and against Colombia (5-2).
The Amandine Henry concern
The shadow on the scoreboard comes rather from the bench: midfielder Amandine Henry, who returned after a two-year absence, was deferred for calf pain. A source close to Les Bleues told Agence France-Presse on Thursday that he would not be “not very optimistic” regarding the participation of the former captain in the World Cup.
Appearing with a very closed face on the bench during the warm-up, Henry has to take his exams on Friday in Paris. Coming back from a collarbone injury, Kadidiatou Diani, who hadn’t played for three months, was at the right pace during her hour of play, but lacked the usual acceleration.
Another manager of the Bleues, Amel Majri, who in the last two weeks had felt pain in his knee operated on last year, returned right after the game (84th), as did defense Elisa De Almeida (61st), who suffers from adductors.
In his notebook, Hervé Renard has undoubtedly made many observations to review for the next two weeks. The analysis will be crucial, as the Bleues fly to Australia on Saturday, where they face the host country in a friendly on 14 July in Melbourne. The start of the World Cup is scheduled for July 23 in Sydney against… Australia.
