Women's France team: for Hervé Renard, Kheira Hamraoui "is one of the selectable players"

Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP 18:49 pm, May 26, 2023

A little less than two months before the start of the Women's World Cup (July 20-August 20), the time has come for the final adjustments for Hervé Renard. Tuesday, June 6 at 16 pm, the new coach of Les Bleues will announce the list of players who will fly to Australia and New Zealand. If Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer, recalled at the last gathering, should indeed be part of the trip, Delphine Cascarino, injured knee, had to withdraw this Thursday. The uncertainty remains, however, for the striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who will undergo medical examinations on Tuesday, but also for the midfielder of PSG Kheira Hamraoui, stuck in extra-sporting affairs and not retained at the last gathering.

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The former FC Barcelona player was the victim of an ambush in November 2021 against the backdrop of sporting rivalry with her teammate Aminata Diallo. The latter, considered as the "sponsor of the violence" is indicted on September 16, 2022 for "aggravated violence" and "criminal association" before being released under judicial control on September 21. A long legal drama, logically responsible for a decline in Kheira Hamraoui's sporting performance. But in recent weeks, the former Lyonnaise, holder in the last four matches of Women's D1, seems to regain the hair of the beast. To the point of convincing Hervé Renard to issue him a ticket for the next World Cup? "She is one of the selectable players," he told Europe 1.

"I attach myself to the sporting aspect"

The 54-year-old technician assures him: Kheira Hamraoui's extra-sporting setbacks are not a criterion likely to influence his choice. "I was far away in Saudi Arabia. I heard about it but I was not at the heart of all these stories. So somehow, it's none of my business. Me, I focus on the sporting aspect and if I think I need her, I will call her back," he continued.

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The former coach of Morocco now intends to focus on the future of this France team. "I don't look in the rearview mirror because I didn't have the right vehicle, I wasn't there. I don't really know what happened and then, honestly, I didn't try too hard to understand," he said. For Hervé Renard, the key to success lies in the ability to "federate, bring everyone in the same direction". "I don't take into account the little stories that there may be. I attach myself to the sporting aspect," he insisted.

Kheira Hamraoui (right) on May 13 during the Women's France Cup final against OL
Credit: MELANIE LAURENT / A2M SPORT CONSULTING / DPPI VIA AFP

At 33 years old, Kheira Hamraoui has 32 caps with the France team. In the French jersey, the midfielder participated in the 2015 World Cup, the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Women's Euro in 2017. Not retained by Corinne Diacre for the 2019 World Cup organized in France, she is however recalled by the former coach last February on the occasion of the France Tournament.