European Women's Football Championship 2017 / France

This article is about the French women's national football team at the 2017 European Championship in the Netherlands . This is France's seventh European Championship participation after 1984 (back then without a final tournament), in 1997 , 2001 , 2005 , 2009 and 2013 .

qualification

→ Main article : "Group 3" in the article European Women's Football Championship 2017 / Qualification

Pl.	team	Sp	S.	U	N	Gates	P.
1	France	8th	8th	0	0	27: 00	24
2	Romania	8th	5	1	2	17: 08	16
3	Ukraine	8th	4th	1	3	14:12	13
4th	Greece	8th	2	0	6th	09:19	06th
5	Albania	8th	0	0	8th	03:31	00

The French achieved the following results in European qualifying group 3:
against Romania 3-0 and 1-0, against Ukraine 4-0 and 3-0, against Greece 1-0 and 3-0 and against Albania twice 6-0.

Apart from hosts Netherlands , France were the first team to qualify for the finals. Nevertheless, immediately after the 2016 Olympic tournament , the national association dissolved the contract with coach Philippe Bergeroo and appointed Olivier Echouafni as his successor.

France's 27 goals were scored by Eugénie Le Sommer (8), Clarisse Le Bihan (4), Kheira Hamraoui , Marie-Laure Delie (3 each), Jessica Houara , Élise Bussaglia , Amel Majri (2 each), Amandine Henry and Camille Abily (each 1); there was also an own goal by Ukrainian Iryna Vasylyuk .

EM preparation

Partial view of the French team hotel during the European Championship

In a first preparatory phase, the French took part in the second edition of the heavily occupied SheBelieves Cup (games against hosts USA , Germany and England ) in March 2017 and ended this competition as winners with seven points. In April they won a friendly match against the European Championship hosts in Utrecht . The last training camp began in Clairefontaine on June 21 ; During this immediate European Championship preparation France received Belgium , against which they won 2-0, and Norway (1: 1).

Four days later, one day before the opening game, the French women traveled to the Netherlands. They have moved into the Van der Valk Hotel ARA in Zwijndrecht , between Rotterdam and Dordrecht . Nearby you can use the sports facilities of the local soccer club ZVV Pelikaan .

Contingent

His first European championship: coach Echouafni

On May 30, 2017, Olivier Echouafni presented his squad list, which included 23 players from six clubs and six reservists. Amel Majri was eliminated from the tournament due to an injury and was replaced by the reservist Clarisse Le Bihan .

No.	Surname	Association (a)	Country games (goals) (b)0	birthday	EM Sp.	Sp.- Min.	Gates
Goalkeepers
16	Sarah Bouhaddi	Olympique Lyon	124 0(0)	10/17/1986	4th	360
21st	Meline Gérard	Montpellier HSC	011 0(0)	05/30/1990
01	Laëtitia Philippe	Montpellier HSC	004 0(0)	04/30/1991
Defenders
04th	Laura Georges	Paris Saint-Germain	181 0(6)	08/20/1984	2	180
08th	Jessica Houara	Olympique Lyon	064 0(3)	09/29/1987	4th	250		1
22nd	Sakina Karchaoui	Montpellier HSC	015 0(0)	01/26/1996	4th	297
19th	Griedge Mbock Bathy	Olympique Lyon	033 0(2)	02/26/1995	3	270		1
02	Eve Périsset	Paris Saint-Germain	009 0(0)	12/24/1994	2	107				1
03	Wendie Renard	Olympique Lyon	094 (19)	07/20/1990	3	270		2
14th	Aïssatou Tounkara	Juvisy FCF → Paris FC (d)	004 0(0)	March 16, 1995
Midfielders
10	Camille Abily	Olympique Lyon	183 (37)	05.12.1984	4th	267	1
15th	Élise Bussaglia	FC Barcelona (SPA)	174 (28)	09/24/1985	2	142
23	Onema Grace Geyoro	Paris Saint-Germain	008 0(0)	07/02/1997	3	270
06th	Amandine Henry	Portland Thorns FC (USA)	065 0(7)	09/28/1989	4th	360	1	1
11	Claire Lavogez	Olympique Lyon	035 0(3)	06/18/1994	2	83
07th	Clarisse Le Bihan (c)	Montpellier HSC	016 0(4)	12/14/1994	2	43
17th	Gaëtane Thiney	Juvisy FCF → Paris FC (d)	141 (55)	October 28, 1985	3	99
05	Sandie Toletti	Montpellier HSC	012 0(0)	07/13/1995
Attackers
13	Camille Catala	Juvisy FCF → Paris FC (d)	027 0(3)	05/06/1991
18th	Marie-Laure Delie	Paris Saint-Germain	121 (65)	01/29/1988	4th	212
20th	Kadidiatou Diani	Paris Saint-Germain	029 0(2)	04/01/1995	4th	216
09	Eugénie Le Sommer	Olympique Lyon	141 (61)	05/18/1989	4th	360	1
12	Élodie Thomis	Olympique Lyon	141 (32)	08/13/1986	2	102
Coaching staff
Olivier Echouafni		Head coach	15th	09/13/1972
Peggy Provost		Assistant trainer		09/19/1977

The remaining reservists are:

No.	Surname	Association (a)	Country games (goals) (b)0	birthday
	Pauline Peyraud-Magnin	Olympique Lyon	000 0(0)	03/17/1992
(e)	Marion Torrent	Montpellier HSC	000 0(0)	04/17/1992
(e)	Aminata Diallo	Paris Saint-Germain	000 0(0)	04/03/1995
	Mylaine Tarrieu	Olympique Lyon	000 0(0)	03/01/1995
	Valérie Gauvin	Montpellier HSC	001 0(0)	06/01/1996

The 23 squad included ten women (plus one reservist) from the triple winner Olympique Lyon, four (plus one) from Paris SG, four from Juvisy, three (plus three) from Montpellier, one each in Portland or Wolfsburg played, as well as a reservist from Olympique Marseille.
The oldest player was Laura Georges, who was 32 years and eleven months old at the start of the tournament, the youngest Onema Grace Geyoro was just 20. The average age was 26 years and seven months; this was reduced when the reservists were included, who lasted an average of 23 years and two months.

Coach Echouafni tried to dampen the pressure to succeed that the world number three was subject to: “The favorites are the ones who win. And we haven't won anything yet. "

^(a) Association membership in July 2017

^(b)A international matches (international goals in brackets); As of July 30, 2017

^(c) Reservist Le Bihan replaced Amel Majri

^(d)The first division of Juvisy FCF entered after this European championship under the name Paris FC .

^(e) In the last two preparation games Torrent and Diallo sat on the bench, as Sakina Karchaoui should be spared due to an injury.

Play in the finals

The world number -Third France got as opponents in his preliminary round Group C that Switzerland (15th place), Iceland (ranked 16) and Austria (ranked 25) randomly assigned. Should les Bleues survive the group stage, they would likely meet England or Spain in the quarter-finals .

Group stage

Against the group opponents, the French international match record is consistently positive: seven successes with one draw and one defeat (in 2007) against the Icelanders, five wins in five games against Austria as well as twelve wins, three draws and four defeats (the last one dates from 2002) against the confederates.

Pl.	team	Sp	S.	U	N	Gates	P.
1	Austria	3	2	1	0	5: 1	7th
2	France	3	1	2	0	3: 2	5
3	Switzerland	3	1	1	1	3: 3	4th
4th	Iceland	3	0	0	3	1: 6	0

Tuesday, July 18, 2017, 8:45 p.m. in Tilburg ( Koning Willem II Stadium )
France	-	Iceland	1: 0 (0: 0)
Saturday, July 22, 2017, 8:45 p.m. in Utrecht ( Galgenwaard Stadium )
France	-	Austria	1: 1 (0: 1)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017, 8:45 p.m. in Breda ( Rat Verlegh Stadium )
France	-	Switzerland	1: 1 (0: 1)

Quarter finals

Sunday, July 30, 2017, 8:45 p.m. in Deventer ( Stadium De Adelaarshorst )
France	-	England	0: 1 (0: 0)

Although France did not make it through the quarter-finals again, Association President Noël Le Graët , who had set the goal of "round of the last four" , assured the day after the squad returned home that coach Olivier Echouafni would not only fulfill his contract, which ran until summer 2018 but that an extension up to and including the 2019 World Cup should be discussed with him shortly . This “job guarantee” then had a rather short “expiry date” because on August 30, 2017, Le Graët introduced Corinne Diacre as Echouafni's successor.

Supporting documents and comments

1. ↑ Article “ A China tour canceled ” from November 9, 2016 at footofeminin.fr
2. ↑ to “ The blues have set up near Rotterdam ” from July 16, 2017 at footofeminin.fr
3. ↑ Presentation of the line-up from May 30, 2017 at footofeminin.fr
4. ↑ to “ Majri must do without, Le Bihan replaces her ” from July 6, 2017 at footofeminin.fr
5. ↑ Article “Une médaille sinon rien!” In France Football of July 11, 2017, pp. 28–31, quotation on p. 29
6. ↑ Article “ Olivier Echouafni gets backing for his work from Noël Le Graët ” from August 1, 2017 at footofeminin.fr
7. ↑ FFF press release of August 30, 2017