ADELAIDE: France displayed their dominance with a commanding 4-0 victory over Morocco at the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, securing a place in the quarter-finals and setting the stage for an eagerly anticipated showdown against co-hosts Australia.
Morocco, who had defied expectations to reach the round of 16 in their tournament debut by eliminating Germany, found themselves outmatched by Herve Renard’s French side in Adelaide.
Kadidiatou Diani kicked off the scoring just 15 minutes into the match, setting the tone for France’s relentless offensive display. The lead was swiftly extended to 3-0 by the midway point of the first half, as Kenza Dali and veteran striker Eugenie Le Sommer found the back of the net.
Le Sommer, France’s all-time top scorer, added another goal to her impressive tally 20 minutes before the final whistle, solidifying France’s quarter-final berth in front of a crowd of 13,557.
France to Face Australia in Quarter-Final
With this victory, Les Bleues now prepare to take on Australia in a quarter-final clash in Brisbane on Saturday. The winner of that match will advance to face either England or Colombia in the semi-finals.
Reflecting on the achievement, Herve Renard stated, “We fulfilled our objective. You always want a little bit more, but it’s fine.” France’s previous Women’s World Cup journey ended in the quarter-finals as hosts in 2019, with the United States eventually becoming the champions.
A triumph against Australia would mark a historic achievement for France, equaling their best-ever performance at the World Cup, when they reached the semi-finals in 2011. Looking ahead, Renard remarked, “Now we can start thinking about the quarter-final against the host nation. We have matched our performance of four years ago, but our objective was to do better than we did in 2011, so we know what we have left to do.”
While the gulf in class was evident in the match, with France demonstrating their determination to secure a major women’s international title, Morocco’s campaign was already deemed a success. Coach Reynald Pedros fielded an unchanged starting lineup from the 1-0 victory over Colombia that propelled Morocco to the knockout phase.
France, on the other hand, made five changes from their previous match, including the return of Sakina Karchaoui at left-back. Karchaoui’s contribution was pivotal as she orchestrated the opening goal, setting up Diani with a skillful cross.
