- France hit by crisis before World Cup
- Key players have pulled out
- Diani unhappy with lack of professionalism
WHAT HAPPENED? Les Bleues have been plunged into crisis ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup, as key players Diani, Wendie Renard and Marie-Antoinette Katoto have all announced they will not play at the tournament after raising concerns about the set-up within the national team. Diani has now spoken out and made it clear she feels it's time for some major changes to be put into place.
WHAT THEY SAID: "The FFF must make changes. We raised a cry of alarm. We expressed our feelings. I think they will study our case and take all this seriously to move our team forward," she told Telefoot. "I think we've reached a point of no return. So, here, for me, if we want to talk about a breakup, then I'll talk about a breakup. I think it's important to have something new because the girls just can't take it anymore."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Diani also went on to explain in more detail the issues she has with the national team set-up.
"I find that we lack professionalism in the France team. Today, we find ourselves with a fairly small staff. It's the coach who decides on her staff," she explained. "We don't have an assistant coach, no specific 'attacking' coach, I'm talking about that because I'm an attacker and it’s true that sometimes I would like to work in front of the goal. In the beginning, you had to be injured to qualify for a massage or treatment session like you would have in a club."
AND WHAT'S MORE: France are not the only national team in crisis ahead of this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. A number of Spain players have also withdrawn themselves from consideration, while Canada are currently engaged in a dispute with the country's footballing authorities over budget cuts.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? France are scheduled to open up their World Cup campaign against Jamaica on July 23 at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.