PREVIEW | What to expect from France at the Women’s World Cup
France qualified as group winners, winning all 10 of their matches (among Uefa’s nine group winners only Germany and Italy failed to go undefeated) but since sealing qualification in September, results have been somewhat mixed. With Corinne Diacre still at the helm, they lost friendlies to Sweden and Germany, but have since recovered to beat Norway and win the Tournoi de France.
Diacre was sacked after falling out with several top players and in the two friendlies they have played since, France overwhelmed Colombia and edged past an injury-hit Canada. The new manager, Hervé Renard, will have to contend with several absences through injury, particularly in the team’s forward line, as Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto are unavailable. To this end, Renard will rely on the veteran striker Eugénie Le Sommer, the country’s all-time leading scorer, to lead the line and the team’s propensity to play a more flowing style of attacking football may be more limited as a result.
At the back, Wendie Renard will again be vital and with the underrated Juventus goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in goal defence will be one of Les Bleues’ strong suits. With Renard, Le Sommer and several other players in their 30s, the team have been ambitious about exceeding their past performances in the tournament, with Chelsea’s Ève Périsset saying: “It’s up to us to prepare ourselves well to reach our goal, the last four.”
Hervé Renard replaced the controversial (but relatively successful) Diacre in March, but has yet to put his stamp on the team. Despite having no previous experience in charge of a women’s team, he does have experience at international level and has also overachieved in tournaments at short notice in the past, including
Read on m.allfootballapp.com
