struggling to score in the game, the Blue attack questions less than four months before the Games

Despite new options tried on the attacking front against Ireland, the France team did not manage to find the fault other than with a set piece on Friday.

More waste at the finish. For its first qualifying match for Euro 2025, the France team logically won against an Irish team lacking in the game (1-0), Friday April 5, at the Saint-Symphorien stadium in Metz. But even if they quickly took the advantage in the match, the Blue still struggled to show realism. Which once again caught our attention, as has often been the case since the World Cup.

“The second goal didn’t come, the goalkeeper did what was necessary to prevent it from coming [8 arrêts pour Courtney Brosnan]. We pushed, continued to put some pressure. That’s three points and it’s the most important. Overall, I’m happy with this match, in the state of mind it was good”, reacted Hervé Renard at the end of the meeting at the microphone of France 3, he who nevertheless called at half-time to put “a little more technical accuracy in the last 30 meters and to project yourself a little more into the penalty area”.

The 21 shots attempted in the evening, eight of which were on target, still raise questions about the offensive animation. After a Final Four of the League of Nations concluded with the rout against Spain in the final at the end of February (0-2), where the doublet between Eugénie Le Sommer and Marie-Antoinette Katoto had never managed to exist, the coach was returned to a 4-3-3 pattern against the Irish. To manage playing time with “MAK” at the forefront, supported by Kadidiatou Diani and the returning Delphine Cascarino. Without much success.

“I think we have to finish the match at 3-0 given the opportunities. There was good defense, very tight and not easy to get around”, regretted the last Lyonnaise cited, optimistic about the fact that Sweden will reveal itself more on Tuesday, allowing potential tricolor counterattacks. While the game plan was to go through the wings in order to deceive an opposing defense well established with five, as confirmed by the technician, it was the midfielders who proved to be the most dangerous offensively.

Set pieces as your only weapon

As is now tradition with the French, the only achievement of the match was finally scored on a new set piece. The seventh action of this kind in the last ten goals for Les Bleues. Selma Bacha and Wendie Renard – usual passers and headers – on the bench, Kenza Dali and Maëlle Lakrar were responsible for getting the ball to Parisian Katoto.

“We know that it’s one of our strengths, that we have size, we worked on it in training, it paid off”rejoiced Grace Geyoro at the final whistle, delighted to see that the precepts of Gilles Fouache, the goalkeeping coach responsible for the stopped phases, were further rewarded. The fact remains that with this almost unique weapon to use, Hervé Renard’s French team is one of those which finds the least fault in the 21st century. Almost half as much as under Corinne Diacre, her predecessor.

Asked about the difficulties his protégés had in scoring in the game, the coach preferred to display his pragmatism. “Tonight, it’s a victory, set pieces are part of modern football. I don’t think we backed down, we insisted… We have to be more efficient but if at the end of the day, we are capable to win from set pieces, I sign”. With a view to the Olympic Games in less than four months, the matches against the Swedes on Tuesday, then England in a month, will be good tests to observe progress on the attack line.