A few months before the Olympics, the French attack raises questions due to its lack of effectiveness. Friday, against Ireland, 25th nation in the FIFA rankings and beaten 3-0 in July, Hervé Renard’s players were neither efficient nor sharp, with only one goal for 21 shots. Above all, it was again from a set piece that they opened the scoring with a worked combination between Kenza Dali, Maëlle Lakrar and Marie-Antoinette Katoto (6th).
Of the last ten goals scored by the Blues, seven were from a set phase (corner, free kick or penalty), notably thanks to the Selma Bacha-Wendie Renard duo, who did not start on Friday. “Tonight is a victory, set pieces are part of modern football,” declared Hervé Renard in a post-match press conference. I don’t think we backed down, we insisted. We have to be more efficient but if, in the end, we are able to win from set pieces, I’ll sign. »
Faced with a very inferior team, the coach could hope for better and more realism. This goal quite early in the match was valuable because facing the low Irish block, the French accumulated incursions into the opposing camp without really being right in front of the goal. Apart from a powerful, on-target shot from Sandie Toletti (34th) and a cross header from Eugénie Le Sommer which hit the bar (65th).
“We have to finish at 3-0”
“I think we have to finish the match at 3-0 given the opportunities. There was a good defense, very tight and not easy to get around,” said Lyonnaise Delphine Cascarino, as did Sandie Toletti and Maëlle Lakrar who also regretted a “lack of efficiency”. Like Cascarino, who had his first start since his return from a long injury, the attackers had difficulty finding each other, lacking automatisms and connections between them, despite the speed on the sides, the plan of attack. game being to go through the wings to get around the block.
This was already the case against Spain during the recent Nations League final (lost 2-0), where the – highly anticipated – Eugénie Le Sommer-Marie Antoinette Katoto doublet did not work. Against Ireland, Hervé Renard chose not to line up the two attackers together, starting only “MAK” and returning to a 4-3-3 system.
The Sommer more leggy
A sign that the star duo of Les Bleues is being called into question? Simply “to manage playing time”, replied Hervé Renard on Friday evening. More visible than against Spain, Katoto weighed a little more with a few discounts and his goal, but it is still too little. “I had a big setback that I expected a little, it was a complicated period to accept, but I knew it was coming,” conceded last week the Parisian, replaced at the hour mark by Le Sommer, more legged and who once again demonstrated that she was the best Blue for a year.
Aligned in a more offensive position, midfielder and evening captain Grace Geyoro had too little influence in the animation, much less than Kenza Dali, although she was positioned further back on the field. With a view to the ultimate objective (Olympic gold this summer), the tough Euro-2025 qualifying matches which will follow against Sweden on Tuesday evening and England afterwards will be serious tests for the French attack.