Paris (AFP)

Appeasement or open crisis?

Back with Les Bleues after being affected by Covid-19, coach Corinne Deacon passes an important test in Austria on Tuesday to bring France closer to Euro-2022 and calm internal tensions arising from her choices.

"From the moment the results are there, the adhesion is there".

This is how the technician defended her management in mid-October, by announcing the list of players summoned for this gathering, which did not include captain Amandine Henry (31 years old, 92 selections), left aside to general surprise for "sporting criteria ".

Until then, from an accounting standpoint, it is difficult to prove the coach wrong in these qualifiers for the Euro where the Blue have a series of victories: five out of five, including the last 11-0 on Friday against North Macedonia in Orleans.

But Tuesday evening (9:00 p.m.) in the very recent Wiener Neustadt stadium located about fifty kilometers south of Vienna, the performance of the France team will be scrutinized much more closely.

Because for the first time in these qualifiers, the French are challenging a nation capable of endangering this thirst for “results” and of testing the famous “adherence” of the French troops to the speech of their boss.

- A last duel to "correct" -

Against North Macedonia on Friday, Deacon, confined far from the Blue but involved at a distance with his staff, was able to do without any problem from Lyonnaises Wendie Renard and Amel Majri, those who had expressed their surprise at the non- summons their teammate Henry.

The absence of the latter was not felt either, and that of goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, voluntarily withdrawn from the selection, even less, against the 129th nation in the world.

It may be a little more complicated against the Austrians, 22nd in the Fifa ranking, who had held in check the Blue during the last Euro, in 2017 (1-1, goal from ... Henry!), Only confrontation is not possible. 'not being ended by a French victory.

"We want to correct that", promised the current captain Eugénie Le Sommer, for whom this duel against the co-leaders of the qualifying group will allow to gauge the progress of the Blue in recent months.

"Between confinement, the last gathering where there were a lot of injuries, it's difficult to know where the team is. We will know more after Austria, the best team in the group", developed in recent days the holder of the record of goals for the French team (86 units after his quadruple on Friday).

- A status to "assume" -

Tested positive for Covid-19 on October 17, then negative on Saturday, which enabled her to find the group in extremis on the eve of departure for Vienna, Corinne Deacon is aware that the opposition will be a real test.

"We are not going to win all the matches 11-0. But the second objective of this camp is to get a second victory. We must assume our status of third in the world," said the former technician from Clermont (Ligue 2).

In a venue which is hosting its first international match and whose gauge has been limited to 900 spectators by UEFA, the partners of Grace Geyoro, author of a double on Friday, can also take a big step towards qualifying for the Euro in England, postponed from 2021 to July 2022.

A victory would place the quarter-finalists of the last World Cup alone at the top of Group G, and they would only miss a draw on the return trip on November 27 to definitively validate their ticket.

A defeat, on the other hand, and the selection of Deacon would quickly fall back into discord ...

© 2020 AFP