France appoint Henry replacement and new women’s coach

Thierry Henry’s former assistant Gerald Baticle will take over as coach of the France Under-21s, while Laurent Bonadei on Friday was appointed to lead the women’s national team.

Baticle, 54, worked with Henry as the ex-France international guided the country to silver at the Paris Olympics before stepping down as coach earlier this week for “personal reasons”.

A longtime assistant at Lyon under the likes of Bruno Genesio and Remi Garde, Baticle also had a spell as coach of Angers from 2021 to 2022.

Les Bleues appointed a new coach as well after the departure of Herve Renard, who left after France’s women were defeated by Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Olympics.

He will be replaced by his old assistant Laurent Bonadei, who had followed Renard after serving on his staff during his time in charge of the Saudi Arabia men’s national team.

“We wanted to have a coach who knows the French team and women’s football, with a wealth of experience and high standards,” said French football federation chief Philippe Diallo.

France also exited the 2023 Women’s World Cup at the quarter-final stage and in February lost the Women’s Nations League final 2-0 to Spain.

Bonadei has signed a contract until 2027, which will place him at the helm for next summer’s European Championship in Switzerland and the World Cup in three years’ time.