France vs. USA: Hosts seek to knock out reigning champs
In what has been described as the “match of the tournament”, France will take on defending champions USA for a coveted spot in the semi-finals on Friday.
The winner of this much-anticipated clash will face England, who were simply outstanding as they dumped Norway out of the competition via resounding 3-0 score-line on Thursday. Les Bleues will be hoping to match the success of the men’s side from last summer, and in doing so, France is aiming to become the first country to be crowned both men’s and women’s champions in successive years.
France come into this game having had to dig deep against Brazil in a match that went to extra time. However, skipper Amandine Henry proved to be the heroine of the evening with her late goal which prevented the clash from going to penalties. That’s naturally what Corinne Diacre hoped to avoid, as penalties truly are a crap-shoot and it’s not always the stronger side who comes out on top.
Still, the tie with Brazil arguably presented France’s toughest test yet, and now the stakes will be even higher as they have been pitted against defending champions USA. The Stars and Stripes cruised through their group stage matches without much fuss, firing in 18 goals along the way and conceding zero.
However, 13 of those came against minnows Thailand – setting a tournament record – and Chile were a lot tougher to break down than many had expected. Still, Team USA earned a 3-0 win over the debutants and battled to a 2-0 result against Sweden, but were given a stern test against Spain, who refused to go down without a fight.
In fact, for the first time this tournament, Jill Ellis’s ladies were unable to score from open play. They needed two penalties, converted by Megan Rapinoe to beat La Roja, and Alex Morgan, who fired in five against Thailand, was worrying subdued in her team’s round of 16 tie. Granted, the star striker was reportedly carrying some sort of injury from the group stages, but the fact that she has failed to find the back of the net since matchday one will be concerning for fans, who will hope that she’ll be able to be back to top form as the team progresses at this summer’s event.
Both teams have been in excellent form since the start of 2019. France have lost just one of their last 11 games – a 1-0 defeat to Germany – and are on a nine-game winning streak across all competitions. The USA have also lost just one of their last 13 fixtures and are on a ten game winning run in all competitions.
The only team to beat the USA? France. Les Bleues picked up a 3-1 victory over the no. 1 ranked side in the world in January, and are unbeaten in their last three clashes with the Yanks (W2 D1). That’s a remarkable improvement as the USA have the vastly superior head-to-head record ( W17 D3 L3).
France will also be seeking to get to the semi-finals for the first time since 2011. At that tournament, they were denied a spot in the final after losing 3-1 to the United States, and they will certainly, in front of their home fans, be looking for revenge and validation as two of the top sides in women’s football lock horns in Paris on Friday evening.
Could this be France’s shot? Certainly. For it seems whoever does beat the reigning champs – if anyone – will put themselves in pole position to win the Women’s World Cup this summer. It’s going to be an exciting showdown and it’s a real shame this game isn’t being played in the finals – because it will certainly feel like it when these two highly talented sides take to the pitch on Friday.
