France leave Wendie Renard, Eugenie Le Sommer and Kenza Dali out of Nations League squad
France have left captain Wendie Renard, record appearance-maker Eugenie Le Sommer and Kenza Dali out of the squad for their upcoming Nations League games against Switzerland and Iceland.
The trio have a combined total of 444 caps for the national side.
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Head coach Laurent Bonadei said that he was trying something different with his team selection but did not say that the players would be out of contention for Euro 2025, which is set to take place from July 2 to 27.
'(These decisions) are difficult to make and difficult to announce to the players,' said Bonadei. 'It's a decision that's hard to hear, hard to understand and almost impossible for them to accept because they're legendary players for the French team.
'I didn't make this decision on the spur of the moment. You'd think, given the timing, that this is crazy but it's not. As Einstein said: 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.' I want different results for this team so I have gone with a different selection.
'It is the end of the season, but I started the process months ago, at the beginning of the season, I announced back then that everyone has a chance and no one is indispensable and I not only decided to give an opportunity to the young players but also to the older ones.'
Bonadei added that the players had suffered mentally after competing at last summer's Olympics in Paris, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Brazil.
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Renard, 34, made her France debut in 2011 and has been capped 168 times by the team. The centre-back has played her entire club career for the newly-rebranded OL Lyonnes and is one of most successful players in women's club competition history, winning 18 French league titles and the Champions League 18 times.
Despite her domestic success, Renard has been unable to help France win their first ever major tournament but had her eye on changing that this summer.
'That's my goal (winning Euro 2025), she told in April. We've got a project under way. Now, we need to keep our feet on the ground, not talk, stay in our corner and work.'
Le Sommer has been capped 200 times and is France's all-time leading goalscorer, in both men and women's competition, with 94 goals. The 36-year-old also plies her trade for OL Lyonnes, where she has made 424 appearances and scored 287 goals.
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Dali, 33, has appeared 76 times for the national side. She signed a two-year deal with the San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in January, The midfielder spent the previous five-and-a-half years in England, playing for West Ham United, Everton and Aston Villa. She played at the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics after overcoming a career-threatening injury.
France have been drawn in Group D at Euro 2025 alongside England, Wales and the Netherlands.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
France, International Football, UK Women's Football
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