Five months before the World Cup, Les Bleues won the Tournoi de France at the Raymond-Kopa stadium in Angers after their draw against Denmark (0-0). Holders of the title, it is the third consecutive time that the French women’s team has won the competition.
The Tricolores packed the last quarter of an hour of the meeting without finding the fault, after having long chased after the ball and their ideas. Already crowned in 2020 and 2022, they will be satisfied with a new title in the competition created by the French Football Federation.
Test laboratory
At the Raymond-Kopa stadium, well stocked for the occasion (11,445 spectators), Corinne Deacon continued her tactical experiments by giving back the keys to the team to a majority of the usual executives, breaking with the squad review operated against Denmark (1-0) and Uruguay (5-1). The coach has made the Tournoi de France a test laboratory, as announced, with a view to the World Cup next summer in Australia. And, as in the two previous matches, it was felt on the overall performance, sometimes shy, sometimes insipid, of his troops.
Follower of the “glass half full”, the boss of the Blues had the merit of innovating through all this friendly competition, even if it means placing certain players in an unusual role, and she will probably be satisfied with the lessons obtained.
Hybrid system
On Tuesday, she set up a fairly new animation under her mandate, which began in 2017, with a hybrid system that mutates depending on the situation: a rearguard with three players in the offensive phase, with five when defending against rising balls opponents.
The tactical animation appeared perfectible and not always adapted to the aligned players. The winger Sandy Baltimore, in particular, was not always at best in his defensive folds, before his exit on injury (left leg) at the end of the first period.
Diani imprecise
The midfielder did not weigh much, like Charlotte Bilbault, and the general performance did not seem very ambitious against the Norwegians who, without their Ballon d’Or 2018 Ada Hegerberg (in the recovery phase with OL), had the main objective of exploiting tricolor errors.
The Scandinavians did not miss it and Guro Reiten gave Pauline Peyraud-Magnin two great thrills, saved by a post (44th) and her crossbar (45th) in actions where her defenders, in particular the quasi-novice Maëlle Lakrar, have been too wait-and-see.
Offensively, the Blues struggled to organize quality collective transitions, too often trying to make a difference on personal initiatives. Kenza Dali, for example, tested the goalkeeper from afar (5th) and fired set pieces for the head of Wendie Renard (26th, 27th). Baltimore, part of the French half, also landed a nice shot (35th), exiting the skylight through the Norwegian door.
Positioned centre-forward, a position she enjoys little of, Kadidiatou Diani was also too hesitant or imprecise despite several attempts.
Cascarino pulls out of the game
In the radius of individualities, the returning Estelle Cascarino, on the other hand, pulled out of the game for her third tenure in three matches. Delphine’s twin sister, back in selection after almost two years of absence, delivered an honorable copy both as axial and left side.
The French will continue their preparation for the World Cup by hosting Colombia and Canada on April 7 and 11 in Clermont-Ferrand and Le Mans.