Host’s France received automatic qualification into the Paris 2024 with Heach Coach Herve Renard noting during last year’s Women’s World Cup that his focus was 2024, not 2023. Despite the automatic qualification, France finished runners-up to Spain in the 2023-24 UEFA Nations League, which would have qualified them in their own right.
France has the second most experienced team at the Olympics, with the median number of caps at 60. Currently ranked number 2 in the FIFA World Rankings, France has never medalled or reached a major tournament final. Full of veterans such as captain Wendie Renard, Eugenie Le Sommer, and Amandine Henry, France will be hoping to be playing at Parc de Prince on 10 August.
The tournament will mark the return of Amandine Henry, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Delphine Cascarino, and Griedge Mbock Bathy who all missed the 2023 Women’s World Cup with knee and leg injuries
France will face Colombia, Canada, and New Zealand in the Group Stage.
Recent Form…
Since the 2023 World Cup, France had a 11W-3L-1D record which earned them a UEFA Nations League silver medal and qualification to the 2025 European Championships. All except one fixture was a competitive UEFA match against League A sides, which has been excellent preparation heading into the Olympics.
In their final Euros qualifying match, and last before the Olympics, France had a shock 3-1 loss to the Republic of Ireland at home. However, they still finished top of their qualifying group, with England unable to beat Sweden.
Previous Olympic Appearances
Paris 2024 will be France’s third Olympic Games, with previous appearances in 2012 and 2016. Prior to 2024, UEFA’s Olympic qualifiers were determined by a team’s ranking from the Women’s World Cup, with the top three finishers qualifying. Due to this, previous iterations of the Olympics have at times been seen as a lesser tournament by UEFA nations, because not all teams had an equal opportunity to qualify, and qualification was not solely determined by UEFA rivals.
France’s best result was in 2012, where they reached the Bronze-medal match against Canada, eventually losing 1-0 in the 90+2’ minute. In 2016, Canada also knocked out France in the quarter-finals, 1-0.
Squad
Goalkeepers (2): Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, Constance Picaud
Defenders (7): Maëlle Lakrar, Wendie Renard (c), Estelle Cascarino, Élisa De Almeida, Sakina Karchaoui, Selma Bacha, Griedge Mbock Bathy
Midfielders (5): Amandine Henry, Grace Geyoro, Sandie Toletti, Kenza Dali, Sandy Baltimore
Forwards (4): Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Kadidiatou Diani, Delphine Cascarino, Eugénie Le Sommer
Alternates: Solène Durand, Ève Périsset, Léa Le Garrec, Vicki Bécho
Coach: Hervé Renard
Player to Watch
When talking about France and a player to watch, it’s hard to look past Wendie Renard. An at-times talismanic captain for both France and her club side Olympique Lyonnais, her performance at centre-back is critical for France’s progression in the tournament. At 6’2” Wendie Renard is one of the tallest players in the world and is a massive aerial threat on both attack and defence. Not all of her 38 goals have come from headers, as at times she has also been called upon for penalty kicks. Renard was one of six who converted their shot for France in the penalty shootout in the 2023 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match against Australia, sending Mackenzie Arnold the wrong way.
Young Player to Watch
Marie-Antoinette Katoto is the fourth youngest French player at the Olympic Games at 25 (demonstrating the side’s wealth of experience). Since her debut in 2018, Katoto has scored 30 goals in 41 appearances for the national team, a rate which is unprecedented in world football. Since returning from her ACL injury, Katoto has scored 4 goals in 9 appearances, including a goal in her first game back against Austria. Katoto plays her club football at Paris-Saint Germain and is their all-time leading goal-scorer with 168 goals.
One of France’s biggest woes since her ACL injury has been a lack of goals against higher ranked opponents and in international competitions, with 10 of their 12 2023 Women’s World Cup goals coming against Panama and Morocco. With this in mind, as a proven goal-scorer, many in France will be hoping Katoto can be a catalyst to take them to Olympic glory.