On July 19, the players of the French football team left Euro 2025 head-down after being eliminated on penalties in the quarter-final, against Germany. A little over three months later, Kadidiatou Diani and her colleagues have not done any better. This Friday, they were beaten by the Germans in the semi-final first leg of the Nations League (1-0). Everything will be decided next Tuesday in Caen during the return match.
Deprived of their captain, Griedge Mbock, but also of Sakina Karchaoui, who was withdrawn due to injury, the Blues spent a good part of their time on the back foot. In pouring rain, they suffered from opposing pressure and resisted opposing attempts for a good while. Pauline Peyraud-Magnin notably made several decisive saves.
But as time passed and wear and tear became more and more evident, the French women ended up breaking down. At the dawn of the last ten minutes of regulation time, Klara Bühl found the fault. After eliminating Élisa De Almeida, the German struck on goal and took advantage of Peyraud-Magnin's error to score (1-0, 79th). Cruel conclusion for the Blue goalkeeper whose overall performance was good.
Les Bleues must turn everything around in Caen
The French women are therefore up against the wall. And since this semi-final will be played back and forth, it is therefore in four days on the Caen side that they will have to shine. In Normandy, Laurent Bonadei's girls will have to score more than their opponents to hope to reach the final of the competition. The mission promises to be perilous but feasible.
Finalist in the Nations League in 2024 (2-0 defeat in the final against Spain), the French team will count on its public and its supporters to try to turn the situation around.
