France Dominates Brazil in World Cup Showdown

The French remain the pet peeves of the Brazilians. Under pressure after a disappointing first match in this World Cup, Les Bleues reacted perfectly by dominating the Samba Queens, Saturday in Brisbane, during the 2nd day of Group B (2-1). Everything worked better for the players Hervé Renard, Eugénie Le Sommer opened the scoring (17th) then Wendie Renard (83rd) scored the winning goal after Debinha equalized (58th). France takes the lead of the group with 1 length ahead of Brazil before the match between Jamaica and Panama.

In addition to the reassuring presence of Renard in the central hinge despite a painful calf in recent days, the French coach had decided to establish Selma Bacha and Kenza Dali on the wings, but also Eve Périsset on the right of the defense while Maëlle Lakrar slipped in the axis where it has more benchmarks. These ambitious choices combined with a great fighting spirit immediately allowed Les Bleues to display a new dynamism against the Brazilians who were willing in attack but fragile behind.

Eugénie Le Sommer (France) opened the scoring against Brazil on Saturday July 29, 2023. / World Cup

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The Sommer still sets an example

In an intense start to the match, Le Sommer placed a dangerous first header that Leticia Izidoro diverted with the end of the gloves (13th). Active and available, the Lyon striker found the fault a few moments later with a new small uncrossed header after a long cross from Sakina Karchaoui and a well-felt drop from Kadidiatou Diani (1-0, 17th). Le Sommer thus further improved his goalscoring record for the France team with now 90 goals.

After this first French goal in this World Cup, Brazil, which had been hard-fought against Panama (4-0), logically sought to react. United, the French held firm in an open first period but did not manage to make the break despite a Diani-Le Sommer duo who finally found each other.

Undefeated against Brazil

In front of nearly 50,000 spectators, the Samba Queens of Sweden’s Pia Sundhage raised their voices again after the break. Les Bleues, they had a moment of hesitation in defense and Debinha took advantage of a blocked ball in the zone of truth to equalize (1-1, 58th). If the Brazilians wanted to continue their momentum, the entry of the sharp Vicky Becho (65th) quickly allowed the Tricolors to regain consistency.

The debates became breathless and could have swung to one side or the other. They again turned in favor of France. Systematically sought after by Bacha on offensive set pieces, Wendie Renard stood out perfectly from a corner and made her heading game speak (2-1, 83rd). Les Bleues then resisted and offered themselves a 7th victory in 12 matches against Brazil (5 draws). They erase the serious doubts born of the draw against Jamaica (0-0) and relaunch themselves completely in the race for first place in the group in order to avoid Germany in the round of 16.

Selma Bacha (France) in the duel with Antonia (Brazil), Saturday July 29, 2023. / World Cup

Credit: Getty Images

2023-07-29 12:41:00
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