France Women v USA Women
June 28th, 2019 – 8.00 pm
BBC
The Women’s World Cup 2019 is starting to really get down to the business end of things now. On June 28th, the biggest match of the tournament so far will be going down. Host nation France will be standing up to the reigning champions the USA. This is going to be some heavyweight duel, worthy of being a fitting finale.
It puts the pre-tournament favourites France against the current favourites the USA.
So this is going to be one worth tuning in for and it can be watched on the BBC as all of the matches from France 2019 can be. So who wins this duel? The top bookmakers have France as the 13/5 underdogs against the favouritism of the USA at 11/10.
The inevitable conclusion
When the draw was made, this appeared to be an inevitable clash down the line. France and the USA were first and second favourites in the outright winner market respectively, and both were expected to win their groups. They both did so with relative comfort as well and that left just the round of sixteen standing between this showdown.
Surprisingly they both had some tougher challenges in the first knockout stage, which actually just ramps up the interest ahead of this quarter-final tussle. The most notable aspect from their round of sixteen fixtures is that both of them looked to have some weaknesses. So they will each have been watching each other and looking to get their tactics right on the day.
France’s progress
France were spectacular in their opening game, taking a 4-0 win over South Korea. They were once again brilliant and unplayable during the first half of their second group stage match against Norway. But when captain Wendie Renard scored an own goal in the second half to tie up the game, France suddenly looked a lot more shaky. They still got the win, with star striker Eugenie Le Sommer converting a somewhat dubious penalty kick.
The French then needed a spot kick, a retaken spot kick at that, to see off a resilient Nigeria in their final group stage match. So the French had to trade some of their power and flair for a bit of grit at times. They certainly did in their round of sixteen tie against Brazil. With Brazil only managing third place in their group, that left France with little reward for actually winning theirs. That was no easy tie for France and it was a huge potential banana skin that they faced.
It was a great game, another one dominated by VAR. Valerie Gauvin put the hosts ahead in the 52nd minute of the game to set Le Havre rocking. But then Brazil, who started to throw more and more caution to the wind, equalized around ten minutes later through Thaisa. That sent the tie to extra time. Then came the big moment of the tournament for one of France’s superstars, Amandine Henry. She slotted home in the 107th minute to send the French though. But they came under some pressure when Brazil got at them.
USA struggle after dominant group stage campaign
The group stage campaign was all too easy for the USA. None of their matches were anywhere near competitive. The Americans, who are the reigning World Champions, started with a 13-0 win over Thailand, Alex Morgan getting a five-goal haul in the game. It was a routine 3-0 win over Chile in their second match, and it was only an astounding performance from Chilean goalkeeper Christiane Endler which kept the score down.
The USA then faced Sweden in their final group stage match. The Swedes were easily the USA’s biggest challenger for top spot. At least they would have been, but they sent out an under-strength side, resting players. In doing so Sweden finished second and went down to the easier bottom half of the draw. So understandably they didn’t care about not winning that game. It meant that the USA were dominant in the fixture and the Swedes barely laid a glove on them. The Americans won 2-0.
Then it was a game against Spain for the USA in the round of sixteen. The Spaniards looked short of a goal scoring threat and were big underdogs. But they produced a tactically sound defensive performance and got a goal after the USA were forced into an error at the back. The USA did win that game, but only thanks to two penalty kicks converted by Megan Rapinoe. But they showed vulnerabilities in that fixture, more than enough to pique the interest of the other remaining nations. The Americans showed that they are a little bit human after all.
Form comparison
France are in wonderful form. They were on an eight-match winning streak before their 1-1 draw with Brazil (that’s counting over 90 minutes only). In their last eighteen games, they have produced a W16 D1 L1 record. That’s some phenomenal form behind them. The French are W5 D2 in their last seven World Cup matches (90 minutes). Their World Cup campaign four years ago was ended in the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout against Germany.
The USA have won their last nine games on the bounce. They have conceded in just one of their last eight. USWNT have scored at least two goals in each of their last nine fixtures and even though they were pushed by Spain, they can hardly been knocked. What about their form in World Cup matches? That is a nine-match winning streak that they are on. They have conceded just one goal in their last ten matches at the World Cup Finals. The USA are the reigning World Champions.
Head To Head
There has only been one World Cup meeting between the two nations. That was back in the 2011 edition when the USA took a 3-1 victory. But France have actually remained undefeated in their last three games against the Americans now, winning two of those three. Their most recent meeting was earlier this year when France took a 3-1 international friendly success.
Players To Watch
It’s surprising that USA superstar Alex Morgan has gone so quiet. She had that amazing first match at the tournament, scoring five goals against Thailand. She was then rested in their second game and she has barely produced anything of note since. Morgan was anonymous in their round of sixteen win over Spain, the opposition doing a wonderful job of keeping her quiet. But how quiet is Morgan going to stay?
For France, they are blessed with amazing talent from Eugenie Le Sommer, Wendie Renard to Amandine Henry but there has been an unsung hero and that is Amel Majri. She’s a left-sided midfielder who is playing at left back. She creates so many chances and has been amazing down the left flank in attack and getting crosses over. Majri has three assists in the tournament. She is a tremendous supply line for the French forwards.
Summary
While VAR has grabbed more headlines (largely for all the wrong reasons) than the football at this tournament, hopefully, it’s the reverse in this one. It is such a wonderful setup, the two strongest teams in the tournament on a collision course before the final.
Regardless of who it is who comes out on top in this fixture, they will be the outright favourites to go on and lift the title. Will the French be able to delight the home support? Or will the USA continue their dominance on the world stage?
