TOPSHOT - Lyon's players celebrates at the end of the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final ... [+]
The reigning French champion, Olympique Lyonnais, played its first friendly of the 2023-2024 preseason against Grasshopper Club Zürich in Divonne-les-Bains located on the border between France and Switzerland.
The game concluded in a decisive 4-0 triumph for the French side, with goals attributed to Liana Joseph, Melvine Malard, Ines Benyahia, and Leila Wandeler.
As the attention of the world shifts towards Australia and New Zealand where the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup is underway until August 20, Sonia Bompastor, the former French international and OL’s coach since 2017 is getting her team ready for the upcoming season.
Olympique Lyonnais, the 8 times winners of the UEFA
Lara Dickenmann of Olympique Lyonnais with her losers medal (Photo by Catherine Ivill/AMA/Matthew ... [+]
The Swiss team’s sporting director is no other than the former Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Lara Dickenmann.
Olympique Lyonnais’ preseason started on July 17 with a scaled-down roster primarily composed of the club’s academy players. This is due to the World Cup and the international call-ups.
A total of 13 players were chosen to represent their respective national teams.
5 of them bid farewell to their aspirations of touching the championship trophy.
Lindsey Horan and the USWNT surprisingly exited the tournament early, Ada Hegerberg representing Norway, Germany and Sara Dabritz were unable to progress beyond the group stage, Vanessa Gilles, the Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist, and Melchie Dumornay who played a role in Haïti’s remarkable inaugural World Cup appearance, all experienced the conclusion of their World Cup journeys.
The club granted these five players a three-week break to rejuvenate before their return to Lyon, where they will commence their preparations for the upcoming season.
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 8: Eugenie le Sommer of France celebrates her goal with Selma Bacha of ... [+]
8 others are preparing for the quarter-final with their respective teams. Wendie Renard, Amel Majri, Selma Bacha, Eugénie le Sommer, and Vicky Becho from France will be facing Elie Carpenter’s Australia the co-hosts.
In another quarter-final head-to-head, the Netherlands’ Danielle Van de Donk and Damaris Egurrola will be facing Spain.
In the inaugural friendly of the new season, Bompastor, who achieved the distinction in 2021 of becoming the first female to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League both as a player and a coach, had the benefit of relying on the experience of notable figures such as Christiane Endler, Dzsenifer Marozsán, and Melvine Malard.
However, this first friendly match of the preseason was the chance for the young talents to showcase their prowess and vie for a spot in the highly competitive senior squad for the forthcoming season.
Among those in attendance were the U17 Euro Champions with France: Liana Joseph, Maeline Mendy, Wassa Sangaré, and Julie Swierot.
TALLINN, ESTONIA - MAY 26: France players, from left, Liana Joseph, Maëline Mendy, Wassa Sangare and ... [+]
Additionally, Melissa Bethi, Louna Belhout Achi, Charline Coutel, Amélia Zemma, Liana Priol, and others were also present.
In a pre-match interview for OL Play, the former French International and current assistant coach Camille highlighted the significance of these matches for the emerging talents. “It’s the perfect opportunity for the youngsters to gain valuable playing minutes during the preseason but also to book a place in the squad for the upcoming season,” she said before adding “it will give them a boost of confidence but also show us what they’re capable of.”