French women are on mission to establish their global domination of football



[ad_1]

Photo: François Mori (AP)

If the 100% non-existent extraterrestrials that supposedly flutter around the Earth's sky were really real and if, one way or another, they gathered enough conviction in their extraterrestrial organs equivalent to those of the liver lily to go down on the far superior human race and challenge us to football matches – a man, a woman – to determine the future of the planet and if we, humans, we had to fight to find a place conducive to both at the organization of this event and to serve as a recruitment base from which we would gather our teams the local population, then the clear choice destination would be Paris. This is because Paris and France as a whole are currently at the center of the football world.

Unfortunately, extraterrestrials are not real or are fragile big cats who do not want to join us, and no such challenge has been proposed. However, the 2019 Women's World Cup, which will be held in France and kicks off this Friday, will provide the French national women's football team with the opportunity to prove without a shadow of a doubt the supremacy within planetary of France.

The assertion that France belongs to both the male and female game is already convincing. On the side of men, the justification is clear. Last summer, the Frenchies won the World Cup convincingly. Two years ago, France had finished second in the 2016 Euros. In addition to these international tournaments, France has been an invaluable geyser of talents of all kinds and in all positions, as no other country can compete for the moment. (Paris and its surrounding suburbs are particularly rich in talent, a young Parisian eleven could very well compete in the World Cup.) Spain and Germany had their races as ascending powers of football in during the last decade, but now the time of France.

In the women's game, the argument is not so clear. On the side of clubs, however, there is no conflict: France, as the dominant female Olympique Lyon, is better than everyone else. Lyon is the best women's team in the world and it is not even close. In fact, compared to its competitors, Lyon could be the most dominant team in all sports.

French Women's Division 1 is one of the strongest women's leagues in the world; Lyon crushes all competitors, winning the last 13 league titles, losing only two national matches in the last nine years. The strongest competition in women's football is the Champions League of Europe; Lyon is second to none, having just won his fourth consecutive European Cup after having reached the last eight of the last 10 seasons, including six victories. Lyon is Real Madrid women's football, only if Real Madrid and Barcelona have eaten as Majin Buu and they have also absorbed all their success.

The glaring gap here, and what the French women will try to correct this summer, is the lack of success of the country as a national team. France has never won a Women's World Cup, nor in the first three places of a major tournament. Not only that, but although it is a popular choice as the next world power to announce its presence in a major tournament since the formation of a strong and exciting team in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup, France did not meet expectations.

Part of this is bad luck. Four years ago, France dominated the Women's World Cup and seemed clearly in favor to win. Then they drew Germany to the quarterfinals. (Let's not forget the extremely gluttonous bullshit of FIFA that deliberately screwed up these two countries by organizing the tournament not according to the quality of the team, but in order to maximize FIFA's revenues. Although they dominated the Germans on the field, the French were unlucky to finish and end up being crushed in penalties.

Some of their recent failures are their own fault. If you thought that bad taste stays in The BlueAfter the last World Cup would encourage them to refocus and give the best of their abilities in the following tournaments, you would have been wrong. The following year, at the 2016 Olympic Games, France sank in the first playoff round against Canada. The following year, they lost at the same stage of the euro against England. Canada and England are not the Little Sisters of the Poor, but for what France could and have watched, they should really do better against a competition of this magnitude if they want to be recognized as best international team.

Fortunately for France, women have a good chance of redemption this summer. The list is exceptional from top to bottom. They have a good combination of experience and youth. The spine of the team is the same as that of this transcendent Lyonnais team. And when you play to the advantage of the field, when you play in front of massive crowds that will probably be more favorable than non-demanding, you will understand why France is the second favorite of punters to lift the trophy, behind the United States only .

This may be the first time the same nation has simultaneously hosted the Men's and Women's World Cups. (Gather your bullshit, USMNT.) France has the parts, the motivation and the support. Now it's up to them to do it.

Listing

Goalkeepers: Sarah Bouhaddi (Lyon), Solene Durand (Guingamp), Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Arsenal)

defenders: Julie Debever (Guingamp), Sakina Karchaoui (Montpellier), Amel Majri (Lyon), Griedge Mbock Bathy (Lyon), Ève Périsset (Paris Saint-Germain), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Marion Torrent (Montpellier), Aïssatou Tounkara ( Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Charlotte Bilbault (Paris FC), Élise Bussaglia (Dijon), Maeva Clemaron (Fleury 91), Grace Geyoro (Paris Saint-Germain), Henry Amandine (Lyon), Gaetane Thiney (Paris FC)

Before: Viviane Asseyi (Bordeaux), Delphine Cascarino (Lyon), Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain), Valerie Gauvin (Montpellier), Emelyne Laurent (Guingamp), Eugenie Le Sommer (Lyon)

Nickname

The Blue (The Blues)

FIFA World Ranking

4

director

Corinne Deacon

Deacon is a pioneer of French football. She became the first woman to coach a professional men's team when she led the Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot during 2014, from 2014 to 2017. And her career in Clermont was successful. The team brought an adventurous style of play to the team with the lowest budget in the league and almost managed to get them promoted in Ligue 1 in its second year. In 2015, the magazine France Football named his coach of the year. After three seasons in Clermont, she decided to accept the position of national team member in August 2017.

How they play

Although France's goal in this tournament is to return to the terrifying form of the last World Cup, this team does not really play like that. This French team was more expressive and creative and threatening in front of goal. This French team is more reserved, solid, always dangerous in attack but in a different way. The central point of the team has slipped a little further than the 2015 version.

The reason for this change is the departure of some of the personalities of the previous generation, namely Camille Abily and Louisa Cadamuro (nee Necib). Abily and Cadamuro were the driving force behind France's flowing attack style, which had so tore apart the defenses of previous years. Cadamuro in particular, as the star of the team, brought a whirlwind of ingenuity that structured the team to his image. Without the goals and assists of Cadamuro and Abily, and without the reliable markers such as Marie-Laure Delie and Elodie Thomis, France sometimes had trouble putting the ball in the net. If more than half of the probable French formation will have regular players for Lyon, it is the goals of the star Lyonnaise (the Norwegian Ada Hegerberg and the German Dzsenifer Marozsán) will not give France the following objective: to prevent the national team to perfectly reproduce the club's dominance.

Which does not mean that France is not yet excellent. Although they do not have the Lyon attack, the France team will be able to appeal to almost all of Lyon's almost impenetrable defense. Goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, central defenders Wendie Renard and Griedge Mbock Bathy, as well as rear-back Amel Majri set off together for club and country. One of the main reasons why international football is not as fluid as club play is the lack of time spent by international teammates, which prevents players from developing the common understanding needed to play their best. The four French defenders who already bring this mutual understanding of their experiences to the club constitute a considerable advantage.

Amandine Henry, the star of the show, stands a little behind the end line. Henry is the maestro of the French midfielder. Aged 29, herself a member of the contingent of Lyon, she has long been the conductor of France, but in the absence of Cadamuro and now as captain of the team, she now has more influence than ever on the debates. This is good news for France because it is fantastic.

Henry is a liar playmaker who organizes the game from the base of the game with his passes. She shines very hard with the ball, splashing all over the field with her impressive range. She is also strong in defense, especially when she waits for the perfect moment and advances with a tackle or interception at the right time.

Although Henry tends to start deep, she is famous for having advanced a few meters and having taken off one of her powerful shots from a distance, she can hit as well with both feet. You may remember this jewel of the last World Cup:

In attack, the leader is the same he has been so long: Eugénie Le Sommer. Le Sommer, another Lyon star, is France's deadliest weapon and the most reliable source goal of the team. The 30-year-old will soon become the all-time leading scorer in France and will have to make a big game for France, as most of the other forwards on the team are relatively unproven.

Delphine Cascarino, 22 years old (you guessed it correctly: she also comes from Lyon) only recently appeared as the most promising French hope of France; if she can channel her compatriot, Kylian Mbappé, and bring some speed and goals to the national team, her contributions could make the difference between success and failure. It will probably take at least two of the young French strikers Cascarino, Kadidiatou Diani and Valerie Gauvin, all under the age of 25, for the women to resume the men's feat at the World Cup. France's biggest challenge, if things went as planned, should probably be the subject of another gigantic match in the quarterfinals, this time against the USWNT. Skip this game, and France could be free at home.

Group A calendar

June 7, 3 pm: France vs South Korea at Princes Park

June 12, 3pm: France vs Norway at the Stade de Nice

June 17, 3pm: Nigeria vs France at Roazhon Park

All hours of the East

[ad_2]

Source link