France Fires Corinne Diacre as Coach Only Months Before World Cup

“It is a sad day,” Renard wrote on social media when she announced she was out of the World Cup, “but necessary to preserve my mental health.”

It is unclear if Diacre’s dismissal might lead Renard, or any of the other players who had said they would not play for Diacre, to make themselves available to the national team again.

The decision to drop Diacre as coach so soon before the World Cup could upend — or, in the view of Diacre’s critics, rescue — the preparations of one of the favorites in this summer’s championship. France will open the tournament against Jamaica on July 23, and then will play Brazil and Panama to complete the group stage.

The team’s next two games, among its final chances to get together before the World Cup kicks off in July, are a set of friendlies against Colombia and Canada in April.

France did not name a replacement for Diacre, but it did seem to issue a veiled warning to the team’s players.

“The way used by the players to express their criticisms will no longer be acceptable,” the federation statement said, adding that it planned to propose a change in the governance of the women’s team that would introduce new layer of oversight.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/sports/soccer/france-corinne-diacre-world-cup.html