“Lucie is someone who’s very understanding, funny and smiley and who brings a lot of joy to the team and is always there to help out other people.”
“Shana’s funny in everyday life. She likes having a laugh with people and being happy, and she wants everyone to feel good.”
When you sit down and talk with two of France’s forwards at the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, you soon realise where the proverbial joie de vivre in the squad stems from.
While they may be on either sides of the Classique divide, with one supporting Paris Saint-Germain and the other Marseille, Shana Chossenotte and Lucie Calba are very close friends both on and off the pitch. They also combined very well in the opening match of India 2022 to create France’s equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Canada, Chossenotte assisting on Calba’s goal.
While the 17-year-olds, born 10 days apart in February 2005, are barely at the beginning of their careers, they already have a wealth of experience to fall back that will only get stronger here at this tournament, just like their friendship, forged when they went to the French high-performance centre in Clairefontaine during the 2021/22 season.
“We met for the first time in 2016,” Calba told Fifa+. “Yeah, it must have been five or six years ago in the Ligue Grand-Est de football,” added Chossenotte, who now plays for Reims while Calba is at Metz. Back then, they were already roommates.
“We get on really well, we more or less have the same interests, we understand one another, we know what to say to each other when things aren’t going well,” explained Chossenotte. “That means that out on the pitch, we work together really well and we know how to play with one another.
“We’ve got a natural understanding. We don’t need to train on specific things together to know how the other one works.”
Focus on France's Shana Chossenotte and Lucie Calba v Canada at the FU17WWC
Against Tanzania on Saturday, this understanding is going to be an important factor for France, currently third in Group D, behind Japan and level on points with Canada.
“We’re going to score goals against Tanzania,” said Calba. “We know that they’re pretty tough, but so are we so that’ll be fine."
Her confidence is based on the fact that she knows just how good her teammates are, in particular Chossenotte, whom she says “can break through a line, she’s quick. She’s capable of winning a match for us.”
Chossenotte, who stood out with her performance on the left wing against Canada, is equally effusive when talking about Calba: “Lucie’s main quality is her finishing.
“She can hit the ball well with both her right and her left foot. She knows how to play with her back to goal and she’s technically very clever.”
With all of these qualities, and the positive atmosphere throughout the squad, France can look ahead to the rest of the tournament with a smile on their faces.
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