Champions of R1 and promoted into D2, the Nice Women’s team took home the trophy in the Coupe Méditerranée on Sunday against Monteux (2-1).

The good run continues, again and again. And even though the squad has less fuel in the tank, the Red and Black machine continues to move forward. “On Sunday, we played our 36th official match of the season” explained Matthieu Esposito, the team’s coach, before quickly summing up the way things went in St-Laurent-du-Var: “We opened the scoring (goal from Léa Malaret), we were caught out in the minutes that followed, but then we scored our second just after (goal from Rachel Robert). Then, not a lot happened, particularly because we played the day before.”

The day before, in Mandelieu, Le Gym went up against the French Women’s Team* (who are currently playing in the World Cup). “We played as a ‘sparring partner’ and it was a great experience! To start with, the girls were slightly timid, but I told them to go out there and make the most of it. Then, there was so much pressing and physical dominance that it became extremely difficult (France won the game 7-0, Editor’s note). The most important thing was that it was an excellent afternoon.” 

“The season isn’t finished yet!” concluded the coach. “We are happy to have won the regional cup at the weekend, but we still have the Coupe Côte d’Azur. Our 37th and final game of the season will be a final and will take place on Friday against Monaco, in Monaco.”

A chance for the team to finish a historic season on a high.

*After winning their first group stage game against South Korea (4-0) on 7 June, Les Bleues face Norway on Wednesday at the Allianz Riviera. Those France players who had less game time and stayed on the bench for the first World Cup game, took to the field against Les Niçoises. 

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