"We asked for new things, a new staff [...] It's the results that will count." Vice-captain of Les Bleues since the appointment of Hervé Renard, Grace Geyoro knows that the France team is now expected at the turn: after being part of the sling that caused the departure of Corinne Diacre, she is aware that her teammates have no more excuses for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, from July 20 to August 20.

"Now it's up to us to play for the World Cup. We are very grateful, at the federation, for the staff put in place. They listened to us, there were exchanges... This can only be positive for the future, "adds the midfielder of PSG.

Be ready for the World Cup

The France team, however, came close to the correctional for its first meeting under the leadership of Hervé Renard. Led 2-0, the Blues believed in disaster against a Colombian team affordable on paper, but the players were able to turn the tide to win 5-2.

"The goal is to be ready for the World Cup," captain Wendie Renard said after the match. "We have a lot of room for improvement, collectively and individually. But we feel a group focused, listening, who want to do things together."

Internally, the Blues are raving about their new coach Hervé Renard, double African champion with Zambia and Ivory Coast, and his method made of listening, proximity but also rigor.

"What struck me was his frankness. He made it clear that he was proud and happy to be there. He wants to give the maximum so that we will win our first title but that it will go through several stages and a lot of work, "says Grace Geyoro. "These are strong words but everyone is determined, whether on the staff side or on the players."

>> Read also: Ambitions, staff and returns... The six teachings of Hervé Renard's beginnings

With his extensive staff, Hervé Renard immediately put his players to work and is ambitious. The players are for the moment unanimous on the increase in professionalism of their sessions and no head sticks out. The sacred union, so dear to the French coach, is in order.

A return of Eugenie le Sommer

But his method is also to pass ointment on the scars of the past. Renard does not forget that he arrived in a heavy context, of sling of the players against his predecessor. He chose to stand out, recalling the rebels, but also the banished of the Deacon era, starting with Eugenie Le Sommer.

"When you know how to score goals, you know how to do it all your career," said the coach. He also expects a lot from her as a leader off the field by appointing her vice-captain.

Eugenie Le Sommer was quick to show her gratitude to Hervé Renard. Holder, she scored two goals in four minutes to equalize, then give a goal lead to the Blues, led 2-0 against Colombia. All ostensibly celebrated in a complicit way with his coach.

"I owe him my presence here. He was the one who brought me back. I owed it to him to return the ball. It is a gesture to say thank you for the trust. I was also happy for him because it was his first, "said the best scorer in the history of the Blues – men and women combined – moved by this return. "It's a lot of happiness. It's been a tough two years. At the time, I just thought about this goal that delivers me a little. It's not a revenge, I just showed my qualities."

A dynamic to maintain and places to take

To maintain the new momentum, a prestigious victory against Canada of the legend Christine Sinclair (39), holder of the world record for goals in selection (190) – and engaged, like her teammates, in a showdown with her federation for financial equality between the men's and women's selections – would be the best fuel for the Bleues de Renard.

The coach does not hide his demands: "We will not be able to behave defensively like this against some of the best teams in the world," warned the former coach of Saudi Arabia.

However, striker Viviane Asseyi does not believe that there is additional pressure on the arrival of the new coach. "The pressure, it's always been there. We remain the team of France, with talents for generations. We have to do great things."

Like Viviane Asseyi, for the group of conscripts, the challenge will also be to secure a place of holder. Once the game against Canada is over, there will only be two friendlies left in early July to secure a place at the World Cup.

Cédric Ferreira and Natalia Ruiz Giraldo contributed to collect the quotes used in this article.

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