The game: 1-0 after
This time, Les Bleues will see the last four, and their dream of a first major title did not end prematurely. After five dives in the quarter-finals of international competitions, they finally broke their infernal series against the Netherlands this Saturday at the Euro (1-0 ap). Acquired in extra time thanks to a penalty obtained by Kadidiatou Diani and transformed by Eve Périsset, the qualification should have been validated much earlier as the French team outclassed the defending champions. We knew the Dutch were less dashing than in 2017, but we didn’t expect such a difference in level.
Except for the tricolor inefficiency, Corinne Deacon’s game plan was executed to perfection. Les Bleues left nothing to Vivianne Miedema – who was barely recovering from Covid-19 and who was only the shadow of the top scorer of the last Tokyo Olympics – nor to the metronome Danielle Van de Donk. They displayed their superiority in the midfield under the leadership of Grace Geyoro, who never ceases to impress. And they perfectly exploited the corridors with doubling of passes, sharp races and diving calls.
The fact: France missed too much
Incessant blue waves swept over the opposing cage but Daphne Van Domselaar replaced the usual holder and captain at short notice. The last orange rampart released the match of its life to repel the attempts of Kadidiatou Diani (1st, 15th), Charlotte Bilbault (17th), Delphine Cascarino (22nd, 90th + 2), Selma Bacha (65th) and Wendie Renard (90th +4). She also had the chance of the greatest when Cascarino hit the post (27th) or when her defender Stephanie Van Der Gragt saved two balls on her line in the first period.
For 100 minutes, the French only lacked success, but unreasonably, like the header next to Geyoro, alone in front of goal at the end of regulation time. The absence of Marie-Antoinette Katoto was then acutely felt despite all the efforts made by Malard until his release.
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France qualified for the semi-finals of a major competition for the third time in its history after the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics.
The European champions took the opportunity to get back on their feet and to rebalance the debates over the course of the meeting. So much so that the specter of a new disillusionment took hold. Périsset and Diani took it upon themselves to hunt him down and the French kept their advantage. In the semi-finals, they will find Germany, which never misses the opportunity to bend the case.
