Euro 2024: first training, first shortened session for Hernandez, serious things have begun for the Blues

Les Bleus ont foulé la pelouse de la Home Deluxe Arena, mercredi. – M.R.

Tchouaméni et Rabiot ont participé mercredi 12 juin au premier entraînement des Bleus en Allemagne. Théo Hernandez a, en revanche, dû quitter ses partenaires prématurément.

The calm before the storm. It was around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday when Didier Deschamps, in a down jacket to protect himself from the local cool, entered the pitch at the Home Deluxe Arena in Paderborn first. The players of the French team followed, breaking the silence of this 15,000-seat stadium for a very first training session on German soil reserved for the media.

So things got serious and Euro 2024 really started yesterday. With good news, since the two midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot, absent from the two preparation meetings against Luxembourg (3-0) and Canada (0-0), were able to participate in the collective session.

The first, who also missed the Champions League final won by his club, Real Madrid, is recovering from a broken foot. On Wednesday, he trained normally, although he did not participate in the final opposition.

"As expected" for Hernandez

Victim of muscular fatigue since the start of preparation, Rabiot was able to mingle with the rest of the Blues until the end. Enough to consider a presence in the starting eleven from Monday, against Austria ?

#football Les Bleus sont arrivés en Allemagne 🇩🇪 et s'entraînent pour la première fois à Paderborn #euro2024 pic.twitter.com/abeLZbENi1

— Midi Libre Sports (@MidiLibreSports) June 12, 2024

Nothing is less certain. Doubt also hangs over Théo Hernandez. The left side had to leave his partners prematurely on Wednesday. The French staff quickly brushed aside the concerns, evoking training "shortened as planned". The Milanese would have "taken a blow to the left knee against Canada and was spared. He will train tomorrow (Thursday)", said the management.

Training in front of 4,000 spectators Thursday

If he actually recovers from this pain, Hernandez should experience a much noisier session. Rather than a stand decorated with a sign “Paderborn” with French and German colors as a decor, the local enclosure should be filled with 4,000 spectators.

According to the FFF, the city and SC Paderborn had received more than 100,000 requests to attend this training in public. Ultimately, the free tickets would have sold out in "4 minutes", announced the Federation.

Usually, the selections cannot accommodate more than 500 fans for their sessions. At the request of the French body, UEFA granted an exemption to the Blues. They will be encouraged by many children from the city, from the club but also members of the Franco-German community. To really dive into the competition.