The draw for the Paris-2024 Olympic Video games, carried out on Wednesday in Saint-Denis, was lenient for the 2 French soccer groups: Hervé Renard’s Bleues will start their match with a gap match in opposition to Colombia on July 25 in Lyon earlier than persevering with in opposition to the Canadians, reigning Olympic champions. For his or her half, Thierry Henry’s Bleuets will face New Zealand, the US and a play-off.
Inexpensive teams for France. Hervé Renard’s Bleues will face Colombia on July 25 in Lyon, within the opening match of the ladies’s match of the Paris Olympic Video games this summer season, in keeping with the draw carried out on Wednesday March 20 in Saint-Denis. They’ll then proceed in opposition to the Canadians, reigning Olympic champions, and New Zealand.
As for the Bleuets of coach Thierry Henry, they’ll face New Zealand, the US and a play-off within the group stage of the lads’s soccer match.
The French males’s crew may even play within the opening of the match, in opposition to the US on July 24 in Marseille, then the winner of the play-off between Guinea and an Asian crew, and at last New Zealand.
Two favorable attracts for the French groups, even when the possibilities of successful Olympic gold are usually not the identical for women and men.
“I visualize gold, I take a look at it, however there’s a lengthy technique to go earlier than,” reacted Thierry Henry to AFP.
The Bleuets are among the many favorites of their competitors, because of their pool of promising and already efficient younger gamers like Bradley Barcola at Paris SG or Guillaume Restes at Toulouse. But additionally as a result of Thierry Henry hopes for the participation of nice internationals among the many quota of three accepted past the age restrict of 23 years.
If Actual Madrid not too long ago warned that it could not launch its gamers, which ought to concern Kylian Mbappé who’s awaiting his departure from PSG, the president of the French Soccer Federation (FFF) Philippe Diallo promised Wednesday to Le Figaro that he would “push” with the Spanish membership for the presence of the captain and celebrity of the Blues.
Karim Benzema “welcome”
As for Antoine Griezmann, Atlético Madrid’s place shouldn’t be but identified. Thierry Henry additionally declared that “the door is open to everybody”, referring to Karim Benzema, who stated he was doubtlessly on Tuesday with the L’Équipe channel.
“No veto” posed both by Philippe Diallo to AFP on Wednesday night: “I used to be delighted that an extra participant wished to take part within the Olympics, it exhibits their attractiveness, a Golden Ball, one of many biggest gamers within the historical past of our soccer.
“There’s not a day with out a nice soccer champion declaring his love for the Video games”, additionally welcomed Wednesday night Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Video games, current in Saint- Denis.
The Bleuets can have the mission to complete first of their group as a way to keep away from a possible confrontation in opposition to Argentina, positioned in group B with Morocco who wouldn’t be an opponent to be taken frivolously within the quarter-finals.
Tighter match for ladies
On the Blue aspect, captain Wendie Renard and her crew can have rather a lot to do to conquer Spain, world champion in 2023, who swept them away within the Nations League ultimate on the finish of February.
Within the first spherical, “we inherit Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, we can’t say that it’s the best opponent, and Colombia which had a powerful World Cup with a really athletic crew”, stated to AFP Hervé Renard.
“I’m on the finish of my contract on August 31, I introduced to the federation that I can’t proceed,” he additionally confided. “It gained’t trouble anybody, particularly the women, they’re used to altering coaches of their membership.”
In any case, they’ll have the satisfaction of getting averted Group B, which was very robust with the US, Germany and Australia particularly, even when two of the third-placed teams will attain the quarter-finals among the many girls. The ladies’s match and its three teams of 4 groups, with none age restrict, is in any case denser than the lads’s and its 4 teams of 4.
“For the ladies, it will likely be a bit just like the World Cup, with all the most effective groups,” commented Arsène Wenger in the course of the draw.
With AFP
