“If you talk to Marine, you have to get close to her because when she speaks she’s very quiet,” Batum told me of his hometown basketball “sister” Marine Johannès, the WNBA’s 13th French player who is living her American dream this summer.

The aftermath was bitter. While only one team won yesterday’s quarter-final showdown on the field (that would be the USWNT), France and Les Bleues won this tournament in another way.

Earlier this week I caught up with France’s magician of the midfield, Louisa Nécib-Cadamuro.

I attended the Japan-Argentina match at Paris’ Parc de Princes. Then I learned “How the Argentina women’s team overcame their own federation to win their first ever World Cup point.”

The France World Cup 2019 kicked off with a dominant performance by the hosts, Les Bleues, a start to their campaign to extend the feel-good vibes from last summer’s victorious Russia World Cup 2018. And after a sprint to the airport, I was there among the more than 45,000 spectators at Parc de Princes to help launch the biggest event in women’s football.

Bonne anniversaire to the French Football Federation (FFF) – it’s certainly looking good for a centenarian!