Oranje hopes for a miracle against France on Sunday evening to reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship. ‘Les Bleues’ are one of the favorites for the title, thanks to a striking measure by national coach Laurent Bonadei.
The surprise was great when Bonadei presented his selection for two Nations League matches about six weeks before the European Championship. The French football legends Wendie Renard and Eugénie Le Sommer were missing from the selection list.
Renard was the captain of the French team for many years and Le Sommer is the all-time top scorer of ‘Les Bleues’ with 94 goals. Now Bonadei chose younger players, who will have to carry the French team in the coming years.
The reason? France did not perform well at final tournaments for years with Renard and Le Sommer in the team. At the last seven tournaments, France only reached the semi-finals once. Bonadei felt that he had to approach it differently in order to achieve success.
“This was not decided in one night,” the coach said at a press conference. “In terms of timing it seems crazy, but it is not. Einstein once said: ‘Insanity is constantly doing the same thing, but expecting a different result.’ I want different results, so I’m going for a different selection.”
Based on the first two matches, a different result may indeed be coming for France and Bonadei at this European Championship. The French are making an impression in Switzerland, especially by beating reigning European champion England.
Finally, the potential that France has been credited with for years seems to be coming out. Just like with the men’s team, France always had top players among the women, but the sporting performances lagged behind for several reasons.
For example, the team suffered for more than six years under the reign of terror of national coach Corinne Diacre, who gave her players no freedom. Several players left the team and only wanted to return if reforms took place. That only happened in 2023. There were also tensions between players.
But under Bonadei, a breath of fresh air is blowing in the French camp. The team is presenting itself in Switzerland as a team. “This French team exudes unity. That has been different at times,” says Analie Simon, who follows the team for the French sports newspaper RMC Sport.
“We were surprised by the good game against England. In the last match before the European Championship against Brazil (3-2 victory, ed.) we already saw that it was well put together. The quality also dripped from it against England.”
That quality mainly comes from Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais. Eleven of the selected players play for one of the two clubs, which are leading in women’s football. The players know each other well and can build on fixed patterns from their clubs.
The selection is further supplemented with players who are active at foreign top clubs. Sandy Baltimore, who plays for Chelsea, made an impression against England with a beautiful goal. Delphine Cascarino also played a good match.
But most eyes are on Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who exchanged PSG for Lyon this summer. She scored against England and is considered one of the best strikers in the world. “Katoto was always in the shadow of Le Sommer and is now breaking free,” says Simon. “She is a very good striker. Without Le Sommer, the game mainly revolves around her.”
The name of Le Sommer is now hardly mentioned at this European Championship. The same applies to the name of Renard. “With Griedge Mbock, France has a good replacement at home, but she is injured. Now the talented Alice Sombath, who has developed under the wings of Renard at Lyon, is getting the chance.”
French media were initially critical of Bonadei’s decision, also because Le Sommer and Renard were critical in French media. But the criticism now seems to have subsided. “For the time being, we don’t seem to miss those legends and even play better,” says Simon.
France only needs a point against the Dutch national team, which lost without a chance against England on Wednesday, to reach the quarter-finals. France won all its matches in 2025 and is the favorite for the cracker against Oranje.
“For the first time in a long time, we have the feeling that we can win a tournament,” says Simon. “We are not the top favorite. Spain is better. But something special is dawning.”