Advantage England? France captain Wendie Renard a shock omission from Euro 2025 - which Les Bleues start with blockbuster Lionesses clash

Capped 168 times by France, Renard has been one of the main faces of the team since her debut back in 2011, being named captain of Les Bleues just two years later. The centre-back is one of the best in her position in the sport and has incredible experience from her time with Lyon, too, with whom she has won an impressive eight Champions League titles.

However, France will be without all of her quality and leadership at Euro 2025, after new head coach Laurent Bonadei left her out of his squad. He said he would do as much last month, when Renard wasn't included for Les Bleues' Nations League fixtures against Switzerland and Norway, prompting huge shock in France. Thursday's announcement of this summer's squad has now confirmed the quite incredible decision to continue without the 34-year-old.

Renard is not the only notable absentee, either. Eugenie Le Sommer, another icon of this generation and a key cog in Lyon's European dominance, has been left out, as has Kenza Dali, the creative midfielder who has been in good form in the U.S. with the San Diego Wave.

Speaking about the absences of Renard, Le Sommer and Dali in May, Bonadei said: "These are tough choices. They are difficult to make and difficult to announce to the players. It's a decision that's hard to hear, hard to understand and almost impossible for them to accept because they're legendary players for the French team.

"I didn't make this decision on the spur of the moment. You'd think, given the timing, that this is crazy but it's not. As Einstein said: 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.' I want different results for this team so I have gone with a different selection."

France's strength in depth remains huge but these big decisions from Bonadei, in his first role as a senior head coach after taking over the team last summer, will certainly be under the microscope if Les Bleues are not successful at Euro 2025. They are in a tough group, too, with England, the Netherlands and Wales. The Lionesses are France's first opponents of the tournament, on July 5.