On July 16, the France Women’s national football team made history. They crushed the Netherlands Women in their last match of group stage play, defeating the Dutch side 5-2. With this win, France Women topped Group D with 3 victories in as many games. They can now anticipate an intriguing quarter-final battle with Germany in Basel, on July 19.
The opening round match against the Netherlands proved how dangerous and diverse the French squad can be. Delphine Cascarino led the charge, scoring one of the five goals for France and demonstrating her crucial role throughout the tournament. Joining her was fellow attacker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who helped kick up the score with another impressive effort, both extending and strengthening France’s lead.
In addition to Cascarino’s and Katoto’s efforts, Sandie Toletti found the back of the net, highlighting France’s attacking prowess. The team was dominant from start to finish, answering all the questions that the Netherlands tried to ask them.
All was not perfect for the Dutch squad. Selma Bacha, under no real duress, sent the ball hurtling into her own net at a 2.0 G-forces, doubling the tally for the Netherlands. This blunder didn’t alter the course of the game. To cap off their scoring spree, France was awarded a late penalty, which Sakina Karchaoui converted successfully, sealing the game at 5-2.
Pauline Peyraud-Magnin’s contributions as France’s keeper helped keep the match close even with the goals that slipped through, through dominant play as keeper. Her contributions were key in making sure France continued their perfect group stage run.
From left to right, Eugenie le Sommer, Elodie Thomis, Camille Abily head up France Women as group winners and go forward strong to the quarter-finals. Now they will take on Germany, a footballing superpower with an impressive footballing pedigree. The next round in Basel should be electric! Both teams are intensely defending their end—to score, and to prevent the other team from scoring and advancing to the semi-finals.
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