France v Morocco
A convincing win saw France progress to the quarter final stages of the tournament following a 4-0 win over Morocco. In a historic match, Morocco made the Round of 16 in their first appearance at the Women’s World Cup, knocking out Germany in the group stages through their 1-0 win over Colombia in their final group stage match.
France will face host nation Australia in the quarter final stage after Australia beat Denmark 2-0.
Tactical Analysis: France
Renard opted to line up his French side in a 4-4-2 formation, one which he has kept throughout France’s World Cup campaign. France made five changes from their win over Panama, with Captain Wendie Renard returning to the starting line up.
France’s 4-4-2 lineup matched that of Morocco, who remained narrow throughout the match in an attempt to stop the threat that France posed. France made great use of the wide areas and channels, with fullbacks Eve Perisset and Sakina Karchaoui joining the attack. This proved to work to France’s strength, with Karchaoui overlapping Selma Bacha and delivering the precisely placed cross which found the head of Diani in France’s first goal in the 15th minute.
France’s central area had to work around the narrowly positioned Morocco, with Geyoro and Toletti finding space to move the ball and find wider areas. Diani and Le Sommer also made use of the wide areas, with Diani coming wide and cutting back the ball which found the feet of Kenza Dali who hit the ball off the left post and into the back of the net for France’s second goal.
France’s forwards applied pressure on the Moroccan defence, trying to force error and pose a threat. This often made it a gruelling task for Morocco to find a way to get the ball up the pitch. Forcing defensive errors, Diani pressurised the Moroccan defence in the 23rd minute, before the ball fell to Eugeine Le Sommer who precisely slotted the ball into the left corner.
Into the second half, France faced threat from Morocco who had chances to attack on goal and test the goalkeeper, including through a corner set piece. To bring new players into the midfield, Vicki Becho replaced Sandie Toletti. She proved to bring new life to midfield, assisting Le Sommer’s second goal in the 70th minute.
France made full usage of their substitutions, bringing on four players late in the second half. Estelle Cascarino and Naomie Feller replaced Eve Perisset and Eugenie Le Sommer in the 82nd minute. Before the final whistle Vivane Asseyi and Aissatou Tounkara came on for Sakina Karchaoui and Kadidiatou Diani, meaning all of France’s outfield players have made an appearance at the 2023 edition of the Women’s World Cup.
Key Players: France
- Kadidiatou Diani
Diani posed a great threat to the Moroccan defence in the centre forward position. She was a key part of France’s attacking movements, scoring the first goal and assisting two goals.
- Sakina Karchaoui
Left fullback Sakina Karchaoui made use of the left channel, overlapping Selma Bacha and delivering crosses into the box. She was a strong part of both France’s attack and defence, precisely crossing the ball to Diani in France’s first goal.
- Wendie Renard
It is no surprise that Wendie Renard was a key part of France’s lineup, being a solid foundation for France’s defensive line up. She moved the ball with ease and brought calmness to the back line.
- Kenza Dali
Kenza Dali played on the right wing, making use of the channel to pressurise Morocco and tried to deliver balls to her teammates to create goal scoring opportunities. She delivered the pass to Diani who then assisted her goal, getting in the position and free space to receive the ball and find the back of the net.
- Eugenie Le Sommer
Le Sommer scored the final two goals by France to secure their win. She was a strong presence in France’s attack. She found her way around a narrowly positioned Moroccan defence and found opportunities to score.
Tactical Analysis: Morocco
The Atlas Lionesses lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, the same formation from their 1-0 win over Colombia and matching that of France. They make no changes to their starting lineup from their previous game.
It is hard to fully assess the tactics of Morocco against the heavily dominant France. Morocco had to remain narrow to strengthen their defence, trying to overload the central areas to stop France’s attack. This forced France to use wide areas and find space to move the ball. Their defensive line stayed close, with the fullbacks opting to not play high and wide.
Their defensive efforts proved to work in the second half, with Morocco only conceding a goal in contrast to the three they suffered in the first half. Early in the second half, Morocco looked to pose a threat on France searching for their own goal. They had attacking runs and tested the French goalkeeper, and had a corner set piece.
To bring new strength and momentum in their midfield area, Morocco made two substitutions with Soufia Boufitini and Sarah Kassi replacing Fatima Taganaout and Elodie Nakkach. Rosella Ayane replaced Anissa Lahmari in centre forward, hoping to find a final goal for Morocco in the 2023 World Cup.
Key Players: Morocco
- Ghizlane Chebbak
Captain Ghizlane Chebbak was a leader in Morocco’s central area, helping her team to try and bring difficulty to France. She challenged for the ball and made tackles to stop France scoring, including coming across a France player to deny their chances of scoring.
- Ibtissam Jraidi
Jraidi had a difficult job to complete in the centre forward position. In Morocco’s attacking chances early in the first half, she made it through on goal and she hit the shot which tested France’s goalkeeper trying to find a goal for Morocco.