2023-12-01 23:07:00
Rennes (AFP) – Substitute at kick-off, but scorer at the end of the match, French striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto considered that the victory once morest Austria (3-0), in the Nations League on Friday, was ” a great step forward” on the path to a return to the very highest level.
Published on: 02/12/2023 – 00:07
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“I’m happy, it’s a great victory,” the player told journalists following the match, with a shy smile.
“It was a very good match, not a very good start, but the second half was a little better,” she judged.
On the bench at kick-off, she was launched by coach Hervé Renard following the break, being generous in the calls, before finding the net in blue in the 84th minute, almost a year and a half following her serious knee injury during Euro-2022.
“I didn’t expect not to start this match, I’m not going to become a starter like that. I’m very patient, especially since there are a lot of good things that have been formed with Hervé Renard and the team,” she commented.
“Personally it was a little hard for me,” she then admitted regarding her first 45 minutes at international level, “but it’s a great step forward and I’m happy,” she was quick to say. to add.
The big smile following his goal — a superb uncrossed header at the near post from a Selma Bacha corner — spoke volumes regarding his pleasure at scoring once more.
“We spoke a little before the match with Selma and fate meant that she was the one who gave me a + cake +, a very, very beautiful cross and she did the hardest part. I just had to finish”, she said, with modesty.
The match without stakes once morest Portugal on Tuesday will be like a bonus, the Blue being qualified for the Final Four of the competition.
“Since I came back, frankly, I have no pressure. I take match following match,” she assured.
“I expected to score a lot less, to play a lot less, but I take what I can take, I’m here, calm, to play. I really don’t worry regarding the pressure, regarding the statistics, matches, I’m really trying to rediscover the sensations,” she concluded.
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