With the 2025 European Championships officially underway, the French Women’s National Team have hit the ground running with a 2-1 victory against England, finishing top of group D following their triumph against Wales and the Netherlands. However, when looking at the France squad, a few familiar faces are missing from this tournament. The announcement came as a shock as Captain Wendie Renard, vice-captain Eugenie Le Sommer and 76 capped midfielder Kenza Dali had been dropped by head coach Laurent Bonadei.
His rationale for making this decision was based on his ambitions of wanting more for this team, as France have never won a major tournament and referred to a famous quote by Albert Einstein.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Bonadei then went on to say,
“I want different results for this team, so I have gone with a different selection.”
So far Bonadei’s bold decision has had a positive outcome, with France yet to suffer a defeat in this Euros.
One of the names missing amongst the squad is Kenza Dali, a midfielder with 76 caps for France, left out of the team and saddened by the situation. When asked about the situation, Dali said
“I have too much respect for the jersey to put out my side of the story now. I know it’s going to be everywhere, and they are preparing for the Euros, and I don’t want to disturb that. It’s difficult to digest because there are a lot of lies in the story that’s been told but I will tell my side after the Euros.”
Dali has had an impressive national team career and has represented France in major tournaments such as the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros as well as the 2019 and 2023 FIFA World Cup, in which she scored a crucial goal in their victory over Morocco.
Eugenie Le Sommer is another recognisable player not named in the squad. The former vice-captain has 200 caps and has played an integral part of the national team since making her debut in 2009. She also became France’s all time leading goal scorer with 86 goals in 175 appearances. With this kind of experience, it is hard to understand why such a strong presence has not been included in the team. However, having only played 27 minutes prior to their European qualifiers against Switzerland and Iceland it would be difficult to assess Le Sommer’s quality with such little game time, which would have played a factor in the head coach’s decision.
After regaining her captaincy in 2021, Wendie Renard has led the team through multiple FIFA World Cups. Having missed the last few games ahead of the 2025 Euros through injury, her playing time was fairly limited. In January, Bonadei assembled a group of players and enlisted Le Sommer and Renard to help pass the baton to those best suited to lead the team. Praising the former captain, Bonadei remarked, “Succeeding Wendie as captain is a big task,” underscoring the challenge of replacing someone with such deep understanding of leadership during major tournaments. So far, Karchaoui, Geyoro, and Toletti have all worn the captain’s armband during this year’s competition.
Back in 2022, ahead of their semi-final clash against Germany, Renard said,
“My sweat and blood, and the sweat and blood of all of my teammates, go into every campaign.”
This relentless mentality has become a core value for the team and has driven their remarkable success in the competition. Even in Wendie Renard’s absence, her mindset remains a powerful asset that continues to inspire the squad.
