Like the German sky, hesitant in this month of June, there is a sort of contrast, shadow and light mixed, on the French football team, as it prepares to enter its eleventh European Nations Championship, Monday June 17 at 9 p.m., against Austria.
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On the light side, apart from the sun which occasionally tries to warm up the small town of Paderborn, near which the Blues took up residence on June 12, there is local enthusiasm. Four thousand people attended a training session open to the public on Thursday. Take the cup homeby Vegedream, and Aya Nakamura in the speakers, little flags and children’s smiles to surround the vice-world champions, whose stay in this little rural corner of North Rhine-Westphalia is of course an event.
On the light side again, there is the view of football Europe, which ranks the French among the favorites of the competition. A habit, given their recent history (three finals played in the last four major competitions). Under the sign of the two stars which adorn their hotel and their training center, in reference to their world titles, the Blues do not deny this ambition. Win this Euro (after those of 1984 and 2000), “this is our goal”, Didier Deschamps assumed as soon as the list of players selected for the tournament was announced. For someone who is completing his twelfth season as coach, there is an element of personal challenge: if successful, he will have won everything on the international level, as a player and then as a coach. The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, specified that the Blues must go at least “in the semi-final”.
Worrying signals
But this favorite status is also cumbersome and conceals its poison: relaxation, even excess confidence. During the previous edition, in 2021, Deschamps’ men fell hard against Switzerland in the round of 16, after a match where they had for a time thought they were safe. This year, there will be no more room for error: the draw placed France in a tricky group, including Austria, the Netherlands and Poland. Three selections synonymous with varied challenges: athletic power, liveliness, some top players. “We must maintain the necessary humility to get through the first round”of course warned the coach.
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With this in mind, the Blues’ mixed performances in 2024 seem to protect them from overestimating their abilities. Because a veil of darkness has slipped, in recent months, over the overall impression they give off.
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