The French women’s football team is preparing to participate in Euro 2022 with a rejuvenated face. 13 of the 23 players selected by Corinne Deacon for the continental meeting have not yet played in a major international competition with the A.
Sandy Baltimore is one of the internationals who is part of this “youthful touch”. The 22-year-old has found her place in Les Bleues midfield. And according to her, this rejuvenation can be an asset for French women who are chasing the first title in their history.
“There is a mix of generations that is going well. They advise us, help us… It’s an asset to go far, “said the PSG player to Olympics.com.
This call for the Euro is a source of pride for her. Sandy Baltimore had been thinking about this meeting organized in England for several seasons, but without making it an obsession.
“When we were talking about it two or three years ago, I was hoping to be there but I wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on myself either, it was something I was hoping for. »
Sandy Baltimore, a player always ahead
His selection is almost logical when you see the latest lists of Corinne Deacon. She has only missed one rally since her first appearance with Les Bleues in the fall of 2020.
The midfielder came into play against Kazakhstan in the Euro qualifiers and celebrated her first cap with a goal. It is still today “his best memory” on the international scene.
Five months later, it was her first tenure with the rooster’s jersey which was marked by a new goal against England, as the symbol of a player who is used to always being ahead of her time.
In Sandy Baltimore’s career, her arrival at Les Bleues – where she experienced an adaptation facilitated by her PSG teammates who “showed her how it was going” – is not the only early event.
She caught the eye of the capital club from the age of 14 when she played for Taverny. She joined the Paris-SG training center the following year to evolve with the U19 team when she was only 15 years old.
Despite this upgrade and a new rhythm to learn, “the biggest challenge at the start of my career”, the left-hander has found her place in the Parisian ranks.
Sandy Baltimore was unanimous so quickly that she played her first minutes in D1 and the Champions League at just 16 years old. His technical qualities, his speed and his ability to make the difference in his left lane were quickly recognized. Highlighted so young, she was able to count “on the support of her family” to stay the course. And the midfielder was quickly rewarded…
Sandy Baltimore already has a Euro on his list
The native of Colombes was still adapting to the professional world when she wrote a first line on her record with a victory at Euro U19 in 2019. An experience that marked her.
“We had a good run, I especially remember a not easy final against the Germans but we managed to win this title”, recalled the one who finished the competition with two goals including that of the equalizer in the final.
This continental title with his country whetted his appetite. “It was the start, we had to look for other titles”, explains the one who was champion of France and elected best hope of D1 in 2021.
That’s good, Euro 2022 is looming and the Habs will aim for nothing less than victory. France has established itself as one of the best nations in women’s football for ten years (it has hardly come out of the top 3 of the FIFA rankings since 2014), but it is still chasing its first medal in a major international competition.
With a new generation emerging in the image of Sandy Baltimore, the best setter of the D1 season, the time for Les Bleues may have come.