"Of course there is still fuel", launched the moped Selma Bacha, all fired up after the qualification snatched Saturday in extra time against the outgoing European champions (1-0 a.p.). "We must leave everything in England: our lungs, our hearts, our guts!"
Named player of the match, the 21-year-old Lyonnaise boosted Les Bleues' game after entering the hour mark, as did substitute Clara Matéo (24) in the extra thirty minutes with percussion, races and a certain audacity.
The "strength" of the current group is "the mix between the recklessness of young people like Selma, Clara, who bring us a lot, and the experience of the oldest, we will say", pointed out the midfielder Sandie Toletti.
- "Freshness and carelessness" -
In fact, the team set up over the past eighteen months by Corinne Deacon, with the sidelining of several headliners (Amandine Henry, Eugénie Le Sommer...) and the arrival of new faces, is proving to be a winning cocktail for the time being.
"The old ones supervise the young people very well" and the latter "are attentive, they also bring their share of freshness, their share of carelessness. This all makes a very good mix", appreciated the coach after the qualification came from a penalty obtained by Kadidiatou Diani and converted by Eve Perisset, both 27 years old.
At the start of the second period of overtime, Deacon launched three players to try to hold the score as the legs began to weigh heavily. The rotation did not lower the level and allowed the substitutes to show themselves, a significant double blow for the management of the bodies and the life of the group.
The boss of the Bleues appreciated the performance of Ella Palis, the player from Bordeaux, who entered "with all her nerve and all her audacity in the midfield, when she was not even a starter in her club".
Another example: "the energy" put by Marion Torrent, "holder a few months ago and who is now the understudy of Eve Perisset". "There is no bitterness, on the contrary", wanted to retain Deacon.
For the first European semi-final in its history, France leaves with a handicap vis-à-vis Germany, stronghold of women's football with record honors (eight titles), due to the schedule established before the start of the tournament. .
Placed in Group B, where it achieved a faultless (three wins, with nine goals scored and none conceded), the Frauen-Nationalmannschaft validated its place in the last four of the English tournament on Thursday by eliminating Austria 2 -0.
"We know that in a competition there will always be a disadvantaged team, today it's us. Well, we're not going to take that as an excuse. We're going to go there and give everything", evacuated Diani in front of the journalists in the mixed zone. "Listen, it's like that, it's part of the game," continued Melvine Malard.
Same speech with Charlotte Bilbault, the holder of the sentry post. "It's up to us to manage the emotions well and these two days less," said the former Bordelaise, one of the three outfield players to have been established at each meeting with Diani and Wendie Renard.
"Obviously we would have liked to have more recovery. But on the other hand, we can't wait to play these matches. We work daily to experience emotions like these. So we will quickly get back into it", continued the N.14.
A session focused on recovery is scheduled for Sunday at the end of the afternoon in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. After a day behind closed doors, Les Bleues will leave their base camp on Tuesday for Milton Keynes for training the day before the match.
