For his second game as coach of the Bleues, Laurent Bonadei applied to the letter the mission order received from the French Football Federation, to ensure the generational transition and renewal of the French team.
It must be said that with numerous injuries to key players, such as Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Sakina Karchaoui, Elisa De Almeida, Griedge Mbock, Selma Bacha, Eugénie Le Sommer and Sandie Toletti, the former Hervé Renard assistant had no real choice but launch new players.
The project awaiting the successor of Hervé Renard, for whom he was a deputy for seventeen months, promises to be difficult. On Tuesday, October 29, in Geneva, after a very mediocre performance, the Blues were defeated by Switzerland (2-1), ranked 25th in the FIFA rankings and which had not dominated its neighbors since 2002.
Between the victory against Jamaica (3-0), on Friday, October 25 in Sochaux, and this trip to Geneva, Laurent Bonadei made seven changes to the composition of his team. Lou Bogaert and Jade Le Guilly honored their first selection in Geneva as Cindy Caputo and Kelly Gago experienced their first term.
In Switzerland, host of the next Euro Cup where the Bleues will play their eighth consecutive final phase in the competition in the summer of 2025, Laurent Bonadei also changed his playing system, going from an innovative and quite convincing 3-4-3 against the Caribbean . to a more classic 4-3-3 and widely used by its predecessor.
Unlike a thunderous first half in Sochaux, Wendie Renard’s teammates struggled to find their footing this time. The match was sterile for a long time, with too many technical approaches to develop a quality collective game. And it was the Swiss who opened the scoring with a penalty converted by Ramona Bachmann, after a foul with Kelly Gago’s hand after a corner kick (25th, 1-0).
A few minutes earlier, the Italian referee Silvia Gasperotti had only called a free kick after a foul by Cindy Caputo on the Swiss captain Lia Walti, which seemed to have occurred inside the area.
Despite a balanced first half with few chances, the French opportunists managed to equalize less than ten minutes after opening the scoring. Paris FC forward Julie Dufour, one of the most restless Blues, crossed back towards Caputo. Stéphanoise failed to recover, which became a decisive pass for Gago. Opportunistically, the forward of FC Nantes, until then in difficulties, pushed the ball towards the goal of goalkeeper Elvira Herzog (34th, 1-1).
At half-time, the French national team coach decided to continue with the review of his squad, replacing four players: Cindy Caputo for Grace Geyoro, Wendie Renard for Thiniba Samoura, Oriane Jean-François for Margaux Le Mouël and Kelly Gago for Kadidiatou Diani . The effect was almost null, Switzerland took advantage of the defensive generosity of the Tricolors.
At 18, Naomi Luyet offered victory to her country, with a curved right-footed shot into the top corner (54th, 2-1). Despite the entry into play of new players such as Sandy Baltimore and Vicky Becho, who contributed a slight improvement, the blues were unable to equalize.
Appointed at the beginning of the year, the Swedish coach of Switzerland, Pia Sundhage (64 years old), who has already coached the United States, Sweden or Brazil, thus achieved a prestigious victory, encouraging just a few months before a European Championship. at home.
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After a streak of three consecutive victories between April and May (Ireland, England and Sweden), the Blues have alternated between a defeat and a victory each time in their last nine games. An irregularity that Laurent Bonadei must correct. It is difficult to judge the new coach in this very special first match, marked by numerous absences.
On December 3 in Nice, with the expected return of more Blues confirmed, the Varois will face their first big test, against the Spanish world champions. Led by the double Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, La Roja is one of the great contenders for the title of European champion. A status to which the French team has not yet shown that it can aspire.
