Although going to Ashby has always been a pleasant moment, this Sunday marked for the Blue followers the last foray into the base camp, in the middle of the countryside. Monday will indeed take place behind closed doors and on Tuesday, once the window of the bus has been repaired, cracked by a stone throw during the journey between the hotel and the stadium on Saturday, the French women will take the road to Milton Keynes to prepare for the semi-final against Germany, Wednesday, 9 p.m. (TF1, Canal +).
This Sunday, therefore, we saw the barnacle geese for the last time near the pond of the Champneys Springs hotel complex around which players and Corinne Deacon did a little jogging. Then, the whole workforce got together for recovery workshops. The coach continued her efforts on the exercise bikes installed outside while fierce matches of Teqball or badminton took place in parallel. Bodybuilding and stretching were also on the program.
The party at the end of the qualification snatch against the Netherlands (1-0) was summarized by Charlotte Bilbault in a press conference with Kadidiatou Diani. “Kadi danced very well!” laughed the midfielder. She’s a very good dancer… No, there was a lot of joy. We know we were expected. We savored last night on the bus, during the meal here at the hotel. It was our moment for us, for all the staff and for the whole group. We must not skip the stages, everything in its time. It was the moment of decompression after the match and today it’s focus on rest, on the hygiene of life. Organizations will quickly be tired. It’s important to take care of your body. And from tonight (this Sunday) and tomorrow, it’s focus on Germany. »
“Physically we are prepared to go all the way”
At his side, the PSG striker did not seem worried: “We had a month of preparation before. The goal was to prepare well to try to arrive until July 31. I trust our staff, I think that the preparation we made was of good quality. I think that physically we are prepared to go all the way, as far as possible. »
If playing a semi-final will obviously be a great first for the French, apart from Renard, this does not seem to be a problem for such an ambitious group. “Personally, I’m hungry,” says Charlotte Bilbault. I think it happened yesterday. I am 32 years old, I am at the end of my career, I want to take advantage of the present moment. We have a quality group. I want us to go as far as possible and yesterday (Saturday) I didn’t want us to go home at all. I’m ready for Wednesday’s game. »
In the mixed zone, in Rotherham, Selma Bacha had already displayed her immense motivation. “We know what we are here for, adds Diani. We really want to go as far as possible. All together we will mobilize to give the best of ourselves and try to reach the final. »
