Friday at 11:30 a.m., Hervé Renard’s Bleues will be entitled to a life-size test for their last preparation match for the World Cup (July 20-August 20). It will also be the first match for the French selection on Australian soil.
And what better than to face the host country to get in the mood? Friday, the Blue will therefore challenge Australia, 10th nation in the FIFA rankings, in a Marvel Stadium in Melbourne animated by 50,000 people. A sold-out meeting, which “set a new national record” according to the Australian Football Federation. A musical show is planned before and after the meeting. Haly Raso, the Australian striker, explains that there is “a real excitement in training camp” before realizing that there “were only ten days left and I thought it was not it could happen that fast. Once the game against France is over, our focus will be on the World Cup and we are looking forward to it. »
For both selections, tomorrow’s meeting marks the end of the preparation. Australia have not played a match since April 11 against England (2-0 victory). The Habs largely beat Ireland (3-0) in their last game. This meeting against the Australians promises to be a real test before facing Jamaica for the first group match, on July 23 at 12 p.m. (French time).
Hervé Renard’s puzzle lies in midfield. The coach will have to redouble his creativity to compensate for Amandine Henry’s package. In Dublin he said, “It’s going to be difficult now. We will say that it was the worst time for this to happen. It’s fate, there will be the MRI done tomorrow (yesterday) but normally we know what to expect, it will be unavailability. It will therefore have to be replaced.” It is the central defender Aïssatou Tounkara (28 years old, 39 selections) until then a reservist, who was called in reinforcement.
The group seems to get along well since the beginning of the preparation. Since their arrival, the Blues have been training behind closed doors with injury prevention work, indoors. The afternoons are spent on the green rectangle with sessions with intensity. The Bleues staff promotes recovery in order to lessen the effects of the trip.
Selma Bacha summarized the preparation, Thursday at the microphone of the Team: “It’s really based on cohesion. As Didier Deschamps said yesterday, it’s a sporting adventure, but it’s above all a human adventure. the coach really relied on that. Frankly, I am ready to kill myself for this coach, this staff, and I hope that my soldiers, that is to say my teammates, are ready. When he (Hervé Renard) arrived, he was in a good mood. He made us realize that we were the best in the world, that we had great potential. He arrived with a game project that everyone understands. When everyone understands, everyone is in the same boat.”
