MADRID, 27 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The French women’s soccer coach, Hervé Renard, described this Tuesday the Spanish team as a team with “many more strengths than weaknesses”, on the eve of their meeting at the La Cartuja Stadium (Seville) for the final of the League of Nations.
“It is a team that scores a lot of goals, in this Nations League they have scored 26. But they have also conceded many, so we will have to play with their weaknesses. As with all teams, there are strong points and weak points. But if we summarize The Spanish team has many more strengths than weaknesses,” Renard said at a press conference.
“It is above all a formidable group,” he added. “You mentioned Aitana [Bonmatí]who is a notable player, but above all she is a team,” he responded to a journalist. “In ball recovery, in projection, in transitions… so we are warned,” he added.
Renard advocated “being happy to be here.” “There are only two teams competing in this final and that is a great opportunity, whatever competition we are in. It is a special moment for this team, so you have to savor it and also know that you should never leave for tomorrow what you can do today,” he warned.
In addition, he gave his recipe for success: “Focus, determination and confidence at the same time.” “Possession is good when it is effective. Against Italy they had 70% of the possession but it was Italy who won. So the important thing is who wins in the end. Spain has been world champion in a completely deserved way, it was the one that played football more beautiful and being world champions was just,” he said.
On the other hand, Renard downplayed the accumulation of minutes after having played in the semifinals of this tournament last Friday. “This will be five days later, so raising the level is not really a problem. They are ready since we have 23 players and the management of the game will also be very important,” indicated the French coach.
“That is where we constantly repeat, the changes have a very important responsibility. Although sometimes they feel a certain frustration, many times it is where we can make a difference,” he alluded to the state of mind of the footballers after each substitution.
Furthermore, the France coach spoke about the growth of women’s football in Spain, after having won the last World Cup. “I have only been in women’s football for a short time and I have a slightly different perspective. I think things are moving forward, but perhaps they are not moving at the pace that the managers are going,” he stressed.
“The federations would like things to progress… but progress is being made. There are many means that are implemented. The fact that Spain is world champion I think makes the entire country very grateful to this team, and will continue to grow. I am convinced that tomorrow there will be enormous support for the Spanish team,” he predicted about the occupation of the seats in La Cartuja.
“I believe that there is marketing, communication and attractive stadiums that are part of the package that should make women’s football increasingly attractive and have a vision for the future,” Renard remarked before giving another wake-up call to his squad.
“We are aware that we are facing the first team in the FIFA Ranking and current world champions, so it is a huge challenge to face. But we would prefer to have taken on this challenge rather than watch the game in front of our television, so we are going to take advantage our possibilities,” commented the French coach.
“We have quality, a lot of quality, we believe in ourselves and in our football. In these types of matches it is about details of concentration and tactical rigor, so tomorrow we will have to be very rigorous,” said Renard in the press room of the Sevillian stadium.
“You have to throw yourself in and be very focused on all the already established phases of the game and on everything that a match implies, which is a somewhat special event. It is exceptional to live these moments, we play football to experience this adrenaline. So when you go out there “You should not be afraid; you should face your rival, respect him, but have a crazy desire to beat him,” Renard concluded.