The France team conceded the first defeat of Hervé Renard’s term against Australia (1-0), in Melbourne, on Friday.
Grimace soup for National Day. The France team was beaten by Australia (1-0) for its last preparation match for the World Cup, Friday July 14, at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Shaken from the first minutes by Australians well in place, the Blues alternated between good sequences as they approached the opposing surface, and big defensive difficulties, until conceding the opener shortly after the hour mark.
The Matildas promised intensity and fervor in front of a record number of spectators (50,629), they kept their word. Faced with the co-host, the Blues immediately found themselves immersed in the bath. Still looking for benchmarks to confirm, just five days after their arrival in Australia, they were attacked from the start of the match by Australians who had returned to their game very well. Faced with the athletic qualities and the solidity of their opponents, Hervé Renard’s players suffered defensively and were too feverish in their half of the field, like Elisa de Almeida completely overwhelmed on the first Australian actions (2nd, 6th), and replaced at the break by Estelle Cascarino.
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They ended up cracking shortly after the hour mark (66th), on a very good counter played by the Matildas. Entering the game at half-time, Manchester City player Mary Fowler took advantage of a space left in the tricolor area to adjust Pauline Peyraud-Magnin and put hers in front. The addition could have been more severe if Sam Kerr, restless and in legs in attack, had had a little more success in the last gesture (13th, 31st).
But all is not to throw for the French, fallen from a small unit at the end of a rather balanced match. After letting the storm pass at the start of the match, Hervé Renard’s players were able to project themselves towards the Australian surface. Grace Geyoro believed to hold the opener after a poor recovery from the opposing defense, but her recovery was miraculously countered (20th).
Tireless on her left side, Selma Bacha got plenty of chances and tried to hit from afar (17th). Very prominent on the pitch, the young Lyonnaise went out injured, evacuated on a stretcher in added time after her ankle turned on a defensive contact, and this is undoubtedly the worst news of the evening for the French team.
Nine days before their entry into the running at the World Cup, against Jamaica in Sydney, the Blue concede the first defeat of the Hervé Renard era, and are not reassured. Between the new injuries and the various states of form, the tricolor coach will undoubtedly again have to adjust his plans and his typical team.