France has conquered its curse and entered the semi-finals of the European Championship. The team is extremely strong offensively, but also has weaknesses. The German team should know that on Wednesday.
It was just 62 minutes into the match between France and the Netherlands when France coach Corinne Diacre set out to decide the game. She didn’t know it at the time, of course, but she did. Because she brought Selma Bacha into play. The 21-year-old defender, who is a left-footed winger at her club Olympique Lyon as well as for the national team, came on for striker Melvine Malard and was suddenly everywhere. And crucial.
Bacha comes and the Dutch defense falls apart
UEFA agreed and subsequently made the substitute “Player of the Match”. “She changed the game with her skillful runs and her intensity in attack and defense” – that was the explanation. And indeed: When Bacha started after her substitution to start the left lane for her speed runs to the opposing goal, the compact defense of the Dutch women broke apart.
Up to this point Stefanie van der Gracht, Dominique Janssen and the indefatigable Sherida Spitse had repeatedly thrown their last effort in the way against the much faster Delphine Cascarino, Kadidiatou Diani and Melvine Malard. But now the defensive bulwark had become brittle. They could no longer hold Bacha. She engineered the actions that had already led to two huge chances for France in added time in regular time. And she also did the preparatory work for that tricky situation that finally led to the penalty and thus the decision in extra time.
Great satisfaction for a former regular player
For Bacha, this should also be a great personal satisfaction. Finally to shine. On the big stage. Because it hasn’t been easy for her. In her club in Lyon, for which she has been playing since she was a child, she has recently been moved more and more often to the second rank, which has also washed the 21-year-old on the bench in the national team.
There were supposedly better players in their position in both teams. But Bacha remained modest after the final whistle: “The team was perfect today,” she said. And she analyzed: “The leadership brought us forward. It was decisive.” The French women later celebrated being freed from the curse in the dressing room. They are finally in the semi-finals – having been eliminated in the quarter-finals of all previous six editions of the continental tournament. “I’m extremely proud of the team,” said Corinne Diacre after the game. “The girls have stayed true to their line, they have always followed our plan. That was the deciding factor in the end.”
France: front hui, but unfocused
In the hours before, France, Germany’s upcoming opponent in the semi-finals on Wednesday (27.07.2022, 9 p.m.), had shown its two faces of this European Championship: had the Dutch women, who were primarily physically inferior, with fast-paced play on the wings from one embarrassment to the other fell. But he also missed some huge chances.
Again and again the ultra-fast Cascarino, Diani and Malard – excellently used by the careful designer Sandie Toletti – were brought into first-class final situations. However, they had rushed all chances and sometimes missed them without concentrating.
France’s defensive problems
Added to this were the repeatedly visible problems in the defense. Whenever the Netherlands pushed their opponents into their half – there were phases early in the game and in the middle of the second half – Wendie Renard and Co. made it to good Dutch finishes. A little more determination, a little more fitness perhaps with Vivianne Miedema, who is still visibly weakened by a corona infection – and the Netherlands could have won the game despite France’s superiority.
France’s problem, which could also be seen in the group game against Belgium, is likely to be the most important starting point for German tactics in the coming game. In the semi-finals, the main focus will be on the German defenders on the flanks and on their ability to break through on the counterattack.
“Great Individual Players”
The DFB team is full of respect in the semi-finals of the European Championship against France. “They played really well, they deserved to win, they have great individual players,” said Joti Chatzialexiou, head of the national team at the DFB, in a ZDF interview after the French team won 1-0. “They have a brutal quality and are really good, especially on the flanks. I was surprised that it took so long.”
“It’s a tough opponent, we know that France has enormous quality in the transition moments, fantastic individual players with a lot of speed,” said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. “We have to try to give them little space. We’ll give everything we’ve got on Wednesday. I think France also respect the performance we’ve shown, so it’s going to be an even game.”