France: Five players to watch

Quarterfinalists at the previous Fifa Women’s World Cup, France are heading to Australia & New Zealand 2023 with a star-studded line-up. We look at their five key players.

Regarded as one of the powerhouses of the women’s game, France will be making their fifth Fifa Women’s World Cup™ appearance at Australia & New Zealand 2023.

Four years on from hosting the tournament, Les Bleues will embark on another World Cup adventure with a new coach at the helm in Herve Renard. He has a fine blend of youth and experience at his disposal. Aside from evergreen captain Wendie Renard, the likes of Grace Geyoro, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer are all destined to have crucial roles when the ball starts rolling.

FRANCE'S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES:

Position: Goalkeeper
Date of birth: 17 March 1992

France’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, Peyraud-Magnin will be making her second Women’s World Cup appearance at Australia and New Zealand. Peyraud-Magnin is a reassuring presence for France. Cool under pressure, even on the biggest occasions, she is strong in the air and boasts excellent positioning and distribution skills.

Nicknamed 'Hulk' ever since her early days at Olympique Lyonnais, Peyraud-Magnin has had an outstanding 2022/23 season with Juventus, where her exceptional performances between the posts earned her a place in the Italian league’s team of the season.

Peyraud-Magnin kept seven clean sheets in 20 matches in her side’s 2022/23 Calcio Femminile campaign (equating to 35 per cent of their games), an indication of her dependability and a statistic that augurs well for France’s World Cup hopes.

Wendie Renard

Position: Defender
Date of birth: 20 July 1990

The national team captain and capped 141 times by her country, Wendie Renard is an icon of French women’s football. Rarely anything but flawless in 1v1 situations and solid in the air, Les Bleues' No 3 has been a natural leader throughout her career.

A calm and diligent player, Renard also has a superb disciplinary record for a defender. Her clean tackling brings a sense of order to France's defence, and thanks to her ability to read the game and be in the right position at the right time, she has a gift for cutting out passes and snuffing out opposition attacks.

Renard is never slow to get forward, either. Her prowess in the air and imposing stature – she stands at 6ft 2in (1.87m) – means she is a constant threat at dead-ball situations, as reflected in her tally of 34 international goals.

Grace Geyoro

Position: Midfielder
Date of birth: 2 July 1997

The first player to score a first-half hat-trick in a Uefa Women’s Euro match (in France’s 5-1 defeat of Italy at England 2022), Geyoro is hoping to shine brightly once more at Australia & New Zealand 2023. A substitute at France 2019, the Paris Saint-Germain captain has become a vital cog in the Tricolore machine over the years.

An eye-catching player, the talented Geyoro has a knack for winning possession back for her team. She is a tactically intelligent, technically gifted and versatile performer who can pierce opposition rearguards and get back to help out in defence. She is also capable of scoring wonder goals, such as her strike against Le Havre AC on Matchday 11 of the 2021/22 French Division 1 campaign, which won her the goal of the season award.

Amandine Henry

Position: Midfielder
Date of birth: 28 September 1989

A seven-time European champion with Olympique Lyonnais, Amandine Henry is now back in the France set-up, bringing her creativity and quality in possession to the national team once more. A precise passer over long and short distances, she is also known for her vision and long-range shooting.

With her excellent dribbling, speed and finishing skills, Henry is a special player who has a gift for gliding past opposition players. Though predominantly right-footed, she is also at ease on her left. That two-footedness has brought her a number of goals from set-pieces. Awarded the adidas Silver Ball at Canada 2015, Henry has her sights firmly set on a first major team trophy with Les Bleues.

Eugenie Le Sommer

Position: Forward
Date of birth: 18 May 1989

France’s leading all-time scorer with 88 goals, Eugenie Le Sommer is a formidable competitor who can turn half-chances into goals.

There are many high-quality elements to Le Sommer’s game, including her ability to hit first-time passes out to wide players whenever stationed in the centre-forward role, a hallmark of her game.

A proficient passer, she started out as a midfielder at FC Lorient’s academy. On her arrival at Olympique Lyonnais, coach Sonia Bompastor chose to make the most of the Provence-born player’s creative gifts, starting her in an attacking position but giving her the freedom to drop back into midfield to distribute the ball and dictate play.