2023-08-07 18:03:30
The French women’s team is aiming for a place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup against Morocco on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Adelaide. A duel as unexpected as unbalanced, but full of emotions for several actresses of the meeting.
Published on: 07/08/2023 – 18:03
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France-Morocco, the return. Nearly eight months after the semi-final between the two men’s nations at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (France won 2-0), the Bleues and the Atlas Lionesses face off in the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup. football in Adelaide, Tuesday, August 8 at 1 p.m. (Paris time).
In the coolness of South Australia, the thermometer risks dropping below 10° C at match time, but the air at Hindmarsch Stadium will be warmed by shared memories. Those of Hervé Renard with the Moroccan selection, which he led in men’s between 2016 and 2019. Those of Reynald Pedros, the Moroccan coach, with the six Bleues he worked with during his two seasons at the head of Lyons (2017-2019). Those of several players from both teams, friends in life and reunited for an evening on the other side of the world.
In the evocative and so particular context which surrounds the meeting, one would almost forget the capital stake of this match: a ticket for the “top 8” of the tournament, against Australia co-organizers or against Denmark of the star forward Pernille Harder.
“I have wonderful memories of my time in Morocco. But let’s get to football. Even when we play a game with friends, we do it to win it,” warned Hervé Renard, refusing to give in to emotion.
A France given favorite against a Morocco which has already succeeded in its world
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.
“We are favourites, we are not going to hide it. We have much more experience than Morocco in major competition, it is up to us to use that. We assume our status, but we know that the status of favorite means nothing say in football”, warns Le Sommer, scorer in hens against Brazil (2-1), a “reference match” which the Blue 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.
“It’s going to be a match full of emotions”
“We are going to try to tickle this French team. This World Cup is incredible, there are surprises, that’s the magic of high-level sport, nothing is written in advance”, s enthusiastic Reynald Pedros, who knows his opponents “perfectly” since his time on the Lyon bench.
On the other hand, Hervé Renard also revives his memories of the 2018 World Cup disputed with the Moroccan men’s selection, one of the stages of his journey as a globetrotter which now leads him in search of a first world star for the Blues.
Like France-Morocco in December, this duel in women’s football – only the second in history – is part of a diplomatic context currently tense between Rabat and Paris (Western Sahara, Pegasus affair…).
It also takes on a particular dimension for the hundreds of thousands of dual nationals living in France, suggesting a peak in audience despite the time difference.
Blue defender Sakina Karchaoui, born in France to Moroccan parents, alone symbolizes this unique environment. “We know the place that Morocco has in our family, just like France,” she says. “It’s going to be a match full of emotions.”
With AFP
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