France named their strongest possible squad to an international tournament for the first time in years with Herve Renard bringing back recognised stars Wendie Renard and Amandine Henry for the 2023 World Cup
Two former captains of the France women’s national teams, Amandine Henry and Wendie Renard, were among the returning stars to the Les Bleus set-up as the team gears up for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Renard and Henry lead French stars ahead of 2023 World Cup
Henry and Renard were part of the players exiled from the team voluntarily or otherwise by former France women’s national team manager Corinne Diacre and were odds-on to miss the World Cup until earlier this year.
While Henry had been banished from the squad by Diacre, Renard and two other French stars, including Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, retired from the national team in protest, pending the resignation or sacking of the manager at the time.
Diacre was sacked from her position as manager after an independent panel found that her selection policies and methods were not in line with the best interests of the team, and she was replaced by former Zambia and Ivory Coast manager Herve Renard.
Herve Renard aims to unify national team
In Renard’s short stint as manager so far, he has managed to bring back the harmony that was missing from the squad, as evidenced by his decision to recall a number of the stars who had been questionably sidelined by the former manager.
Top of the list are Henry and Wendie Renard, but also Diani, who had initially retired from the team, and the country’s record top scorer, Eugine Le Sommer, who was sidelined after a feud with Diacre.
These players, along with 22 other France internationals, will represent the country at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, with many believing that the national team selected the best possible players available for the first time in years.
Unfortunately, they will be without Delphine Cascarino and Katoto, who both suffered ACL injuries and will not make it back in time for the World Cup.
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