Euro 2022: A guide to the France team

Euro 2022 is taking place at 10 venues across England between 6-31 July. France are in Group D, along with Italy, Belgium and Iceland. Syanie Dalmat, a journalist for French daily sport newspaper L'Equipe, assesses their chances.

How will France do?

The French team will be one of the favourites. In the Fifa world rankings they are third - but they are second in Europe, and really should be reaching the final.

We would definitely like to see this team go further than the quarter-finals, where they have been knocked out at the past three Euros.

The strength of the team is in attack, with players such as Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Kadidiatou Diani, Delphine Cascarino, Sandy Baltimore and Melvine Malard, who are young and have great qualities.

The defence, with Wendie Renard, Griedge Mbock Bathy, Selma Bacha - who all had a great season with Lyon - plus new Chelsea signing Eve Perisset, is also a strength.

In contrast, I think that without Lyon's Amandine Henry, the midfield is weaker. It was not a surprise she was not selected because Corinne Diacre had not picked her since December 2020. Even though she had had a great season, finished off with a spectacular goal in the Women's Champions League final, it would have been a surprise if she had made the squad.

Who is the manager?

Corinne Diacre, who was the first female coach in France to train a team of men, in Clermont, led France to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2019.

So far, she has not managed to do better than her predecessors.

The former France captain has made an effort to improve her communication since the World Cup. It was a disaster in 2019 - with the press and with the players. Now, she seems to be more open.

Some fans do not like Diacre and want her to go. But they are mainly Lyon supporters, who do not understand why she is not picking two of their players - Eugenie Le Sommer, France's all-time top goalscorer, and Henry.

Who is the star player?

Lyon captain Wendie Renard won her eighth Champions League title in May

Wendie Renard, the captain, has the most experience and is one of the best defenders in the world, while Marie-Antoinette Katoto - the French top flight's player of the year - is currently one of the game's leading strikers.

Katoto was left out of the squad for the World Cup in 2019, so there will be big expectations on her for her first big competition with the national team.

There is also PSG's captain, Grace Geyoro, a midfielder, who has made great progress in the three years since the World Cup and has become one of the most important players in the team.

Who is the rising star?

Selma Bacha has had a great season with Lyon and can be one of the rising stars of this Euros. She is a great defender and produced nine assists in this season's Champions League - more than anyone else in the competitions. She had a very good technical understanding with her Lyon team-mates Renard, Hegerberg and Malard.

PSG winger Sandy Baltimore could also impress, although she had a better season in 2020-21. She didn't perform as well this year but she is still one of the great young players at PSG.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Mylene Chavas (Bordeaux), Justine Lerond (Metz), Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Juventus).

Defenders: Selma Bacha (Lyon), Hawa Cissoko (West Ham), Sakina Karchaoui (PSG), Griedge Mbock Bathy (Lyon), Eve Perisset (Bordeaux), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Marion Torrent (Montpellier), Aissatou Tounkara (Atletico Madrid).

Midfielders: Charlotte Bilbault (Bordeaux), Kenza Dali (Everton), Grace Geyoro (PSG), Ella Palis (Bordeaux), Sandie Toletti (Levante).

Forwards: Sandy Baltimore (PSG), Delphine Cascarino (Lyon), Kadidiatou Diani (Paris St-Germaint), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Melvine Malard (Lyon), Clara Mateo (Paris FC), Ouleymata Sarr (Paris FC).