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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Anna Carreau

France seeking end to years of hurt and internal conflicts at Euro 2025

France's Melvine Malard and other players in training
Melvine Malard smiles as France take part in training before opening their Euros campaign against England. Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/AP

“I want people to stop asking me: ‘Why haven’t France won anything when you’re one of the best teams in the world?’” Marie-Antoinette Katoto, like all her teammates, has only one dream this summer: to win the Euros.

To do that, though, they have to come to terms with a history of tournament failures, with the most recent one coming at the home Olympics last year, when they were knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals. “We have had opportunities and twice failed to win it at home in France. We have to have the humility to admit that,” admits Sakina Karchaoui, one of the team’s vice-captains, referring also to the 2019 World Cup on home soil, when they lost to the USA in the quarter-finals.

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