PLAYER RATINGS | Australia 0-0 France: Les Bleues exit World Cup on penalties
France’s dream of a maiden World Cup title ended in tears and heartbreak in Brisbane, with Les Bleues losing to co-hosts Australia on penalties 7-6.
After an adventurous start, Les Bleues gradually suffered from the Matildas’ sustained pressure and ability in transitional plays, forcing France into losing too many easy balls in their own third of the pitch. Fortunately, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin and captain Wendie Renard kept the boat afloat. Hervé Renard’s side sometimes looked overwhelmed by the occasion. France’s rare goalscoring opportunities in the first half fell to centre-back Maëlle Lakrar. The centre-back missed a sitter yards from goal and Aussie goalie Mackenzie Arnold then deflected her shot from a corner.
At the other side of the pitch, Australia went close to make France pay for their many errors. A misunderstanding between Sakina Karchaoui and Peyraud-Magnin fell to Mary Fowler, whose goalbound shot was denied by a tremendous goal line clearance from Elisa Da Almeida. France could feel lucky to return to their dressing room on par with Australia, although they were due a hair dryer of a half-time team talk from Renard.
Australia started the second half as they ended the first one – dominating an error-strewn France. The Matildas could rightly feel the game was theirs for the taking and introduced talismanic striker Sam Kerr before the hour mark. France went into survival mode with Australia poking holes left and right in Les Bleues’ midfield. Peyraud-Magnin made amends for several blunders with a flurry of good saves.
France eventually found a way back with Australia loosening their grip on the encounter and struggling to create opportunities. Les Bleues weathered the storm and even threatened to pull off an
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