French internationals get their way: union fires women’s national team coach Diacre

Corinne Diacre has been fired as national coach of the French soccer women. She was under fire for her leadership style and lack of success at major tournaments.

Last European Championship, France still made it to the semifinals, after dealing with the Netherlands a round before.

More and more players indicated recently that they no longer wanted to play for France under Diacre. It started with captain Wendie Renard, followed by Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Perle Morroni and Griedge Mbock.

Renard even expressed fear for her mental health if she remained on the team. Diacre herself said she was shocked by this “smear campaign” and stressed Wednesday that she still wanted to stay on.

2022: France beats the Netherlands at the European Championship:

After an extensive stocktaking by the French Football Federation, the decision to sack Diacre has been made after all, more than four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“This coach change is part of a new global ambition, in favor of the development of women’s soccer and the performance of the French team,” reads the federation’s statement, indicating that the sporting bar is being set high for the upcoming World Cup and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Another conclusion was that the way the players had criticized Diacre was unacceptable.