Women's European Football Championship | Germany's quarter-final opponent France delights the fans

It's not as if jerseys with Katoto or Cascarino logos are ubiquitous in Switzerland when the French women's football team plays in Zurich, St. Gallen, or Basel. Boys and girls alike often wear a jersey with Mbappé's logo to show their allegiance. But anyone who supports France at this European Championship - and many Swiss from the French-speaking part of the country do too - will be thoroughly entertained by the women . On Sunday evening, many French fans emerged with smiles from St. Jakob-Park onto the platform that leads directly to the stadium to make their way home on the mostly punctual trains after the 5-2 spectacle against the Netherlands.

Offensive fireworks

France's exclamation mark before the quarter-final against Germany on Saturday at the same venue could hardly have been more impressive. Wasn't that evening of football at the "Joggeli" incredibly fun? Dressed entirely in white this time , national coach Christian Wück demonstrated their full repertoire of strengths and weaknesses to the 34,133 witnesses. In the first half, they didn't always appear confident, with a bit too much laissez-faire in defense. But the offense lit up with fireworks in the second half. This ensemble combined playful ease with physical robustness – and deservedly defeated the defending champions from England and the 2017 European champions from the Netherlands. Aesthetics and athleticism combined are a unique French selling point at the European Championship. A semi-final against the world champions from Spain would likely be the anticipated final.

But first, it's about the quarterfinals – and the fact that they've never beaten the eight-time European champions at major tournaments. " Germany is a great football nation . This is a big challenge, but we're ambitious and will give everything to beat them," announced national coach Laurent Bonadei. Many promises have been made in the past, but despite all the talent, they've never reached a final at a major tournament.

Liberating effect

That's why Bonadei has cut back on old ways and dropped icons like Wendie Renard and Eugénie Le Sommer. Since then, the team has seemed liberated – partly due to the fact that under the 55-year-old, there are no guidelines for the attackers. Why devise formulaic moves when creative talent can flourish so wonderfully?

Delphine Cascarino, for example, can do it all: delicate dribbling, tremendous acceleration, and swift combinations. Against an opponent who had been defensively strong for half a game, she quickly turned things around after a 2-1 deficit at halftime: First, she set up Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who equalized, and then scored twice herself.

Respect for the DFB team

Cascarino on the right, like Sandy Baltimore on the left, repeatedly sought out the technically and physically strong Katoto. The 26-year-old herself expressed great respect for the German national team: "They've won many titles. They knocked us out at the last European Championship." What one of the world's most complete goalscorers left undisclosed: She tore her cruciate ligament in the second group match of the 2022 European Championship, missed the semifinal defeat to Germany, and therefore also missed the 2023 World Cup, where her team lost a tearful penalty shootout to Australia in the quarterfinals, just as they did in the penalty shootout drama at the 2015 World Cup against the German national team – despite their footballing superiority being striking.

The failure of the 2019 World Cup in the quarterfinals against the USA, on home soil, was primarily due to the negative atmosphere surrounding the unpopular coach Corinne Diacre. Internal disputes have been a common thread throughout France's football history, both among women and men.