Four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20 - August 20), the FFF decided at the last minute the thorny issue of the succession of Corinne Diacre, former coach landed on March 9 against a backdrop of internal slingshot.

Committed until the Olympic Games of Paris-2024, Renard is indeed expected from Friday (12:00) in Paris in the auditorium of the Federation: he must already announce his first list of players to face Colombia and Canada on April 7 and 11 in friendly preparation for the World Cup.

The first choices of the former coach of Saudi Arabia, who resigned only Tuesday night from his duties after a defeat against Bolivia (2-1), will be particularly scrutinized.

Will captain Wendie Renard and star striker Kadidiatou Diani have already made themselves available after their withdrawal? Could former banished ones like Eugenie Le Sommer find the selection?

In any case, neither the rebellious Marie-Antoinette Katoto nor the former captain Amandine Henry, in cold with Deacon and deprived of selection since 2020, will be summoned, because they are injured.

Financial concessions

The presentation of Hervé Renard will also be an opportunity for the leaders of the FFF to justify their decision to turn to this profile certainly emblematic, but unknown to the benches of Women's D1.

Saudi Arabia's French coach Hervé Renard during the match against Mexico at the 2022 World Cup on November 30, 2022 in Doha © PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP/Archives

At 54, Renard is a rather famous face in men's football, especially in selection (Zambia, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia), but his history is still virgin at the head of a women's team.

For the former defender, double winner of the African Cup of Nations adored in Saudi Arabia since his exploit at the World Cup-2022 against Argentina (2-1), it is clearly not a financial choice, because Renard will certainly have to drastically reduce his salary.

The technician with well-groomed blond hair and the unstoppable white shirt has nevertheless given his priority to the tricolor selection, a return to the fold for this globetrotter who has never shone in France, despite some lightning passages (Sochaux, Lille ...).

One thing is certain, he ticks the box "charisma" wanted by Jean-Michel Aulas, president of Lyon and the most influential member of the executive committee of the FFF in this file.

Expanded staff

But the "playboy" image sometimes sent back by the "blond wizard" and his muscular methods - such as his memorable half-time speech against Argentina in Qatar - are not commonplace in women's D1, where the majority of French internationals play.

The 9th coach in the history of Les Bleues should be helped for this mission of a staff more experienced than him in the daily life of women's football, a valuable asset both in physical preparation and in the study of opponents.

The FFF did not formalize Thursday the composition of the staff but according to sources close to the file, Eric Blahic, former assistant of Deacon appreciated by several players, will be part of it, as well as his trusted assistant Laurent Bonadéi, who accompanied him in Saudi Arabia.

Will this new framework respond to the "profound changes" in "management" demanded by the rebels?

As if to recall that they would no longer have a free pass, the FFF has already warned that "the way used by the players to express their criticism was no longer acceptable in the future".

© 2023 AFP