France captain Wendie Renard to miss Women's World Cup to 'protect mental health'

France captain Wendie Renard has announced she will not take part in the Women's World Cup this summer because she is unhappy with the set-up of the team; Renard: "It's a sad day but a necessary one to protect my mental health"

Friday 24 February 2023 19:05, UK

France captain Wendie Renard has announced that she will not play in this year's Women's World Cup to "protect her mental health".

Renard is arguably France's greatest women's footballer having played 142 internationals and scored 34 goals for the side.

She has also been prolific in domestic football, winning 15 league titles and eight Champions League trophies with Lyon.

Although Renard stopped short of retiring, she said she no longer felt able to play for the national team.

A statement on social media said: "I love France more than anything, I am not perfect, far from it, but I can no longer accept the current system which is far away from the demands required at the highest level.

"It's a sad day but a necessary one to protect my mental health. It's with a heavy heart that, with this message, I inform you of my decision to take a step back from the France team.

"Unfortunately I won't play in the World Cup under these conditions."

Renard did not go further into detail, but there have been strong tensions in the France squad for years between the players and coach Corinne Diacre who has been in charge of the side since 2017.

When Diacre took over, she stripped Renard of the captain's armband before then giving it back to her in 2021.

Following Renard's decision on Friday, striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto and forward Kadidiatou Diani also announced they were putting their international careers on hold.

Katoto posted on Twitter: "I've taken the decision to put my international career aside until the necessary changes have been made."

Diani also said on Twitter she will return to the national side only if significant changes are made.

What is the WC schedule?

The group stage will begin on July 20 and run over a two-week period finishing on August 3 and see group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.

The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.

The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.

A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.