The Bleuets attack Germany for a place in the final of the Euro Under-21 football championship

At first glance, putting together a squad to compete in the Euro Under-21s seems almost impossible. The biennial tournament is not part of the International Federation (FIFA) calendar, and therefore clubs are under no obligation to release their players for the tournament. Gérald Baticle, who took over from Thierry Henry as head coach after the Paris Olympics , therefore had to work hard to put together his list.

Yet, the Bleuets have qualified for the semi-finals of the competition, held in Slovakia, where they will face Germany on Wednesday, June 25 – kick-off at 9 p.m. in Kosice. The challenge is daunting: their opponents, winners in 2017 and 2021, have the best attack of this edition, led by Nick Woltemade, who leads the scoring charts with five goals.

France, for its part, is without several of its key players, such as Monaco attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche and Stade Rennais striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, who are retained by their respective clubs. Added to this is the injury-related absence of former Paris Saint-Germain player Hugo Ekitike and the absence of captain Enzo Millot "for family reasons." Not to mention the promotions of Désiré Doué and, more recently, Rayan Cherki (who is also involved in the Club World Cup with Manchester City), to Didier Deschamps' squad.

"I'm disappointed because I had a rich choice," lamented Gérald Baticle on the show "RMC Mercato " a few weeks before the Euro. "Some time ago, I had three number 10s, Cherki, Doué, Akliouche. And now, I've gone from three to none. Two players who are promoted [to the senior team] , that's perfect, but Akliouche is being held back [by his club] , so it's harder to accept."

Thierry Henry's former assistant, whose contract was renewed until 2027, made the best of a bad situation. " We adapt, we know that with every list there are twists and turns," he acknowledged at a press conference.

This major squad reshuffle, however, does not seem to have harmed the Bleuets, who reached the last four of the competition for the first time since 2019... even if Mathys Tel's teammates came close to elimination on several occasions.

After an "interesting" draw that gave "quite a few positive responses" to Gérald Baticle and his staff, against Portugal (0-0) for their opening match on Wednesday, June 11, the Tricolores were very close to the exit against Georgia three days later. Trailing 2 goals to 1 until the ^88th minute, the French team relied on Johann Lepenant ( ^89th ) and Thierno Barry at the very end of stoppage time (90 + ^12th ) to secure their first victory of the tournament. This hard-fought success strengthened the bonds of the group, according to its coach: " We feel that a [collective] spirit is being born," he had then underlined.

Qualified for the quarter-finals after their demonstration against Poland (4-1) on June 17, the Bleuets believed that their adventure would end at this stage of the competition – as was the case in 2021 and 2023. Six minutes from the end of regulation time, the scoreboard showed 2-1 in favor of Denmark. What happened next? Two goals in quick succession scored by Quentin Merlin ( ^84th ) then Mathys Tel ( ^85th ) and a victory on the wire.