2023-08-07 12:23:04
To everyone’s surprise, the Moroccans clinched their ticket to the round of 16. Coached by former French international Reynald Pedros, the Atlas Lionesses will challenge the French women of Hervé Renard on Tuesday August 8 in Adelaide (Australia).
Published on: 08/07/2023 – 12:23
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This is an unprecedented poster at this level of the competition which promises to be a remake of the semi-final lost in December during the Men’s World Cup in Qatar by the Atlas Lions against the Blues (0-2).
The French women’s team is aiming for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Morocco, a duel as unexpected as it is unbalanced. But how not to think of the Qatari World Cup France-Morocco semi-final (2-0), almost eight months ago, after the Atlas Lions rocked the Maghreb country and the Arab world in a waking dream?
The pressure on the shoulders of the Blues
Ultra-favorites, the France of Wendie Renard and Eugénie Le Sommer bears all the pressure on their shoulders, against the lowest ranked nation of the 8th (72nd in Fifa). In the small stadium of Adelaide (less than 14,000 seats), an elimination would be an affront and would destroy all the promises made by Hervé Renard, appointed in April at the head of the Blue, succeeding Corinne Deacon, dismissed.
« We are favorites, we will not hide it. We have much more experience than Morocco in major competitions, it’s up to us to use that. We assume our status, but we know that the status of favorite means nothing in football “, warns Le Sommer, scorer in hens against Brazil (2-1), a “ reference game “Which the Blues want to use.
On the other side, Morocco has already succeeded in its competition, the first World Cup in its history, by managing to overtake Germany in Group H, despite an inaugural slap against the Germans (6-0). With a team combining local players from AS FAR (Rabat), the main women’s club in the country, and recently convinced bi-nationals, the Atlas Lionesses are counting on a tournament full of surprises.
The French coach of Morocco, Reynald Petersassured that he will not have no remorse and scruples to beat “and eliminate the France team, on the eve of the round of 16 of the World Cup, “ a game to win for Morocco ».
The Moroccans, after their victory against South Korea. © Hannah McKay, Reuters
Reynald Pedros and the reunion with the Lyonnaises
« We are here to qualify. The important thing is to respect the opponent, to respect a round of 16. The Moroccan team is not there by chance. Tomorrow is a match of the caliber of the one we played against Brazil “, says Hervé Renard for his part.
When Herve Renard was in charge of the Atlas Lions, between 2016 and 2019, Reynald Pedros took the Lyonnaises to the roof of Europe for his first position as head coach in women’s football.
« It’s gonna be a reunion, a special moment for sure “, noted Eugénie Le Sommer, the striker of the Blue and Lyon. “ Football is amazing. If someone had told me when he left Lyon that we would end up in the round of 16 of the World Cup, especially with Morocco, I would not have believed it. He knows the France team very well, the Lyon players he has had and those he has faced “, she adds. The 34-year-old goalscorer remembers a coach who ” love life “, Who “ sends good vibes ». « He managed to do great things with us, he won titles, it’s not negligible “Explains the vice-captain of the Blue.
Reynald Pedros joined the ambitious Moroccan federation at the end of 2020, as part of a vast development plan for women’s football and the selection of the Atlas Lionesses, organizers of the Women’s African Cup in 2022. A tournament in which Morocco will reach the final, validating its qualification for the World Cup.
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