Facing the 54th nation in the Fifa ranking, the 6,348 spectators present at the Pierre-Brisson stadium in Beauvais were expecting nothing more than a victory, and Corinne Deacon’s players responded. The players of Cameroon, also in preparation, since they will play the African Cup of Nations in Morocco in July, delivered a very physical opposition to the Habs.
Solidly installed in the opposing half of the field, the Bleues sometimes had trouble combining, but well alerted by Clara Mateo on the right side, the Lyonnaise Melvine Malard found the fault for the first time (32nd). Another representative of OL, Griedge Mbock, managed to imitate her shortly after, taking advantage of a ball that trailed in the area after a mess (38th).
The good surprise Sarr
This match was also an opportunity for Corinne Deacon to give a lot of people some playing time. It is with this in mind that Mylène Chavas has, for example, been established in goal in place of the usual goalkeeper number 1, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. And that’s also why the star of the team, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, gave up her place at half-time to the surprise guest on the list: Ouleymata Sarr. A rather well-chosen choice, since the attacker scored a double header on two corners taken by Torrent, then Dali (58th, 63rd).
This double is a nice surprise for the player playing at Paris FC, who was not necessarily the most anticipated within the France group. Barred, a priori, in attack by players like Katoto or Baltimore, it will nevertheless offer a good alternative to the coach in the event of a blow during the competition. She did not go far from scoring a hat-trick at the end of the game, but her cross shot crashed into the left post of the Cameroonian goal (86th).
By rotating her workforce (6 changes made), and avoiding injuries, Corinne Deacon was able to reassure herself about the strengths of her group. Next Friday (9:10 p.m.) against Vietnam, it is likely that it will field a team closer to what we will see at the Euro. The captain, Wendie Renard, should notably resume her place in defense. The competition will begin in two weeks, on Sunday July 10 against Italy… another opposition.