Retired from the France team since 2016, pivot Isabelle Yacoubou (soon to be 37), excellent this season with Tarbes, could make her return in blue.
And if the small final of the Rio Olympics in 2016 lost against Serbia was not finally the last selection honored by Isabelle Yacoubou in the France team? The emblematic pivot, who will turn 37 next month, retired from international football in October 2016, after wearing the blue jersey 147 times (for 1,306 points scored). But she is a hit this season with Tarbes, where she decided to return last summer, after starting her professional career there. So much so that a return to selection is beginning to be considered.
Last week, The Team revealed that Bleues coach Jean-Aimé Toupane, who arrived after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 where France had won the silver medal, was going to meet the player to discuss a possible return. He would particularly like to be able to count on her during the next Euro, in Israel and Slovenia from June 15 to 25, where the Blues would finally like to turn silver into gold, after having finished second in the last five European championships.
A game with 20 points and 16 rebounds on Sunday
In the columns of The Republic of the Pyrenees, the player let it be known that she was listening to any proposal: “In any case, so far, I have never asked myself the question of a return to the France team. But I am listening to the coach if he wants to discuss it. With my performances, I don’t find it abnormal that he wants to broach the subject. Remarks signed before Isabelle Yacoubou’s XXL performance on Sunday during the derby against Basket Landes, where she scored 20 points (8/13 on shots) and took 16 rebounds in 32 minutes.
This season, the native of Benin is averaging 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds, in a Tarbaise team currently eighth in the standings. Will Isabelle Yacoubou be present with the France team on May 15 for the start of preparation for the Euro? We’ll find out in the next few weeks…
