Tough draw awaits Hervé Renard’s Les Bleues in Paris Olympics | OneFootball

France waited in anticipation as the group stages for the Paris Olympics were finalised yesterday evening. The hosts have never reached the podium positions in the women’s game, and with home advantage on their side, this will be a year that they will be hoping to go the distance.

It’s hard to sway who Les Bleues avoided in a highly competitive tournament. Each group runs a certain risk, and most teams picked alongside the hosts will be glad they were drawn with a team in Pot 1 who were there because of the competition format over elite status.

Hervé Renard’s France side are a strong team that reached the Nations League Final this year, but between a choice of them and the US and Spain (both of which have competitive successes on their side), it’s clear that most teams would be happy to be in a group with France.

France will have to navigate a path through current holders Canada, a golden-era Colombia side that reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and a competitive New Zealand team. It’s manageable with three teams progressing, but once again glory looks far from certain for Les Bleues.

Full draw Women’s Olympics

Group A – France, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand.

Group B – USA, CAF 1, Germany, Australia.

Group C – Spain, Japan, CAF 2, Brazil.

GFFN | Nick Hartland