- France beat Morocco 4-0 in the last round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
- After just 23 minutes and 3 points from Kadidiatou Diani, Adelaide was 3-0.
- “Les Bleues” meet hosts Australia in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Kadidiatou Diani was the highlight of the opening phase – and at the end of the entire game. The PSG striker with the eye-catching head of hair practically single-handedly put France on the road to victory early on.
With her personal 4th tournament goal, Diani made it 1-0 after a quarter of an hour. The 28-year-old was left alone by the Moroccan defense and effortlessly converted a cross with his head.
In the following 8 minutes she had 2 more scorer points credited to her:
- 20 minutes: With a lightning-fast turn, Diani creates space, storms towards the Morocco goal with the ball at his feet and then lays it down to Kenza Dali, who makes it 2-0 from the edge of the box via the inside of the post.
- 23 minutes: The rebellious striker follows up in the opponent’s penalty area and provokes a rebound that falls in front of Eugénie Le Sommer’s feet. The 34-year-old executes skillfully.
Morocco 90 minutes harmless
The preliminary decision in this round of 16 had been made – also because the Moroccans were completely lost on the offensive. France coach Reynald Pedros’ team recorded a single finish for the full 90 minutes, but it didn’t make it to the goal.
After the break, France also gave up their efforts and the game turned out to be extremely tough. At least Morocco now and then saw the opposing half of the pitch from time to time. Le Sommer’s second goal was then due to a brief French interim high. She executed with her head. Shortly thereafter, Diani missed her second goal of the day from the best position.
After the 0:6 at the start against Germany, underdog Morocco conceded the second clear defeat. Nevertheless, the first Arab participant in a final round can look back on a successful tournament.
This is how it goes
In the quarter-finals on Saturday (9:00 a.m. live on SRF Zwei), the French will meet co-hosts Australia in Brisbane. As the winners of their World Cup group, the “Matildas” also mastered their round of 16 against Denmark (2-0) with ease. In addition, they can finally count on their star striker Sam Kerr again. In their last meeting with France (a friendly just before the World Cup), Australia won 1-0.