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France have dropped their captain Wendie Renard, their vice-captain Eugénie Le Sommer and the experienced midfielder Kenza Dali for their upcoming Nations League games with little prospect of either making a return for this summer’s Euros.
Laurent Bonadei’s side face Switzerland and Iceland in the international window. There had been reports of the trio being left out but the announcement still came as a shock to many. France are one of the favourites for the European Championship in Switzerland but have been drawn in a tough group with England, the Netherlands and Wales.
“These are tough choices,” Bonadei said. “They are difficult to make and difficult to announce to the players. It’s a decision that’s hard to hear, hard to understand and almost impossible for them to accept because they’re legendary players for the French team.
“I didn’t make this decision on the spur of the moment. You’d think, given the timing, that this is crazy but it’s not. As Einstein said: ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.’ I want different results for this team so I have gone with a different selection.”
France have never won a major tournament and were eliminated by Brazil in the quarter-finals of last summer’s Olympics in Paris. Renard, Le Sommer and Dali were all in that squad. Bonadei refused to confirm whether they were definitely out for the Euros but did say: “It’s something I’ve been thinking about since the start of the season. When I announced at the start of the season that everyone had a chance, that no one was indispensable, in my mind it wasn’t just about giving young players a chance but also players who had suffered psychologically after the Olympic Games and making sure that everyone was involved.”
Le Sommer and Renard have partly paid for their lack of playing time over the last few national team gatherings. The forward, who has 200 caps for Les Bleues and was due to be honoured for that feat in Nancy before the game against Switzerland on 30 June, played just 27 minutes in the past four national team outings. Renard missed three of those through injury with her former OL teammate Griedge Mbock shining alongside Maëlle Lakrar against Ada Hegerberg’s Norway.
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“Things happened naturally, with a mix of generations in the first few games and we racked up four wins from four Nations League matches. In those four games the playing time for these players was fairly limited. My thoughts were refined, in consultation with my staff, so I made my decision,” Bonadei said before explaining that he called each of them on Tuesday to let them know about his decision before Thursday’s announcement.
