Football: "I've been told about it for several years, but I don't realize it," reacts Eugénie Le Sommer after her 199th selection, a record with the Bleues

An entry in the 79th minute to definitively mark the history of French football. Against Iceland, Eugénie Le Sommer became, on Tuesday February 25, the record holder of selections in the French team, honoring her 199th cap, the victory as a bonus (3-2), in Le Mans, during a match counting for the League of Nations . "Everything is mixed together. There is pride, relief. And then, I am happy with the victory: without it, it would not be the same. Besides, I did not think about it when I warmed up, when I put on my jersey. I was focused on the match, which was tight and had a lot at stake. But the ovation from the crowd reminded me that it was special," revealed the attacker, who thus overtook Sandrine Soubeyrand.

At 35, Eugénie le Sommer probably did not imagine, when she began her career in the Blues in 2009 against Ireland, that 16 years later, she would have become a key player and pillar of this Blues team, where she is also the leader in goals (94). " I have been told about this record for several years. I do not believe it. I know that I can inspire, I try to be the best possible because I want to be a role model for little girls. I did not have one and I know that it can be important for them," she continues.

With 199 caps, she has now put in the rearview mirror the player who was a starter with her during her first cap and who held this record since her international retirement in 2013. "It's great to succeed her. At the time, her record was incredible, it was great to play so many matches. I remember when she beat it, I never thought I could do it!" , recalls the Lyon player, whose closest active player is Wendie Renard (168 caps).

This symbolic milestone was an opportunity for the evening's actors to highlight the player born in Grasse but who started playing football in Brittany. "We know her professionalism, her human qualities, she is a committed woman and player and she is the idol of many young people, she knows the demands of the high level" , noted her coach Laurent Bonadei.

Although Eugénie Le Sommer has logically slowed down her goal scoring pace in recent years (eight in 24 matches over the last two years), she has always retained the confidence of the six coaches she has known, even if Corrine Diacre has gradually called on her less. "It's a historic record. Eugénie Le Sommer is not only the most capped player in the French women's team, but also in the men's team. She is a monument of French football," reacted Philippe Diallo, the president of the FFF.