LE HAVRE, France — With record television audiences in France, the Women’s World Cup is raising the host country’s interest in women’s soccer to unprecedented levels. On Sunday night, the home team allowed that passion to continue by reaching the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over Brazil.
It was an edgy, physical match, awash in missed passes and opportunities. The French team — so flowing and high-scoring in the buildup to the World Cup — continued to often look tight and uncertain.
“In the first half especially, our group was very nervous,” Corinne Diacre, the French coach, said. “I asked them at halftime to play more freely and enjoy themselves. They were putting so much pressure on themselves that they forgot the fundamentals, and we were facing a very good team.”
But in the end, France held off Brazil, including Marta and its other aging stars, by getting a high-quality goal in the second period of extra time on a volley from the captain Amandine Henry off a long-range free kick.
Les Bleues, as the team is known, will now return to Paris and the Parc des Princes to face either the United States or Spain, who play a round-of-16 match on Monday night.
The French news media has been looking ahead to a quarterfinal against the United States since the draw was made in December. But Diacre and her players have resisted addressing the potential matchup, well aware that looking ahead could have been a trap. The 120-minute challenge posed by Brazil on Sunday night proved their point.
But what is clear is that France would be a significant underdog against the United States based on the level both teams have displayed this tournament.
The French, shuffling their forward lineup under Diacre, have struggled to find their attacking rhythm, struggled to create in the midfield and struggled to finish effectively.
Yet they also have won every match, going 3-0 in World Cup pool play for the first time in a group that included Norway, a resilient and resourceful team that is already into the quarterfinals.
But Sunday was the beginning of the knockout round for France, and this narrow, emotional victory — in which Brazil threatened to score at the end of regulation and again at the end of the first 15-minute extra-time period — was the sort of breakthrough that can settle a struggling team and bring its players closer together.
Or not.
“I cannot say that I totally recognized my team tonight individually, but we did what we had to do defensively and collectively,” Diacre said. “It was not exceptional but, despite all that, we went out and found what we needed to get the victory.”
Diacre removed the attacking midfielder Gaetane Thiney from the starting lineup on Sunday, inserting Viviane Asseyi, although Thiney did replace Asseyi near the end of regulation.
“As long as we win, I’m always right,” Diacre said with a laugh.
Valerie Gauvin, France’s center forward, scored in the 52nd minute. Thaisa, a Brazilian midfielder, answered in the 63rd minute with a low left-footed goal that was initially waved off because of an offside call but was soon allowed after consultation with the video assistant referee.
V.A.R. also played a role in the first half when it nullified an apparent French goal that came after a collision between Gauvin and Brazilian goalkeeper Barbara as they converged on a cross.
More than four minutes elapsed — much of it with Gauvin and Barbara lying on the field in considerable pain — before Gauvin’s goal was overruled.
But V.A.R. did not intervene on the two passages of play that ultimately decided this match.
In the final moments of the first extra-time period, Brazil forward Debinha broke free on the left wing and beat French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi. But her low shot was kicked away in front of the goal line by defender Griedge Mbock Bathy.
“When I saw that, I said to myself, ‘This is ours tonight,’” France forward Eugenie Le Sommer said. “I said to myself, ‘This is ours tonight.’”
That proved true as France struck quickly in the second extra-time period when Amel Majri’s curling left-footed free kick found Henry, who had gotten behind her defender, Monica, despite Monica’s efforts to impede her progress with an outstretched arm.
Henry’s quick-strike, left-footed volley, which came in the 107th minute, left Barbara with no chance to make a save, and Henry was soon engulfed by her teammates.
The first ones to pile on top of her were Wendie Renard, Le Sommer and Thiney, who all are playing in their third World Cup for France. They have experienced plenty of disappointments through the years as the team has repeatedly fallen short of the biggest prizes.
They reached the semifinals of the World Cup in 2011, losing by 3-1 to the United States. They were beaten on penalty kicks by Germany in the quarterfinals in 2015.
But this is the first time the French women have had the chance to play a World Cup on their own turf, and they have played in front of sellout crowds in every match. On Sunday night, 23,965 fans in the Stade Océane sang “La Marseillaise” before the match and then sang it again in the closing minutes.
It was a grand stage for what was likely the final World Cup match for the longtime Brazilian leaders Marta, Cristiane and Formiga.
Marta is 33. Cristiane is 34. Formiga, the oldest player in this World Cup, is 41. Formiga was replaced in the midfield in the 75th minute on Sunday by Andressinha. Cristiane, who posed a consistent threat up front, had to be helped off the field and replaced in the 95th minute with an apparent injury to her left leg.
That left Marta to carry the torch for Brazil’s greatest generation of women’s players. She played until the final whistle, running about eight miles during the match, and then made a plea to the next generation of Brazilian soccer players watching at home.
“There won’t be a Formiga forever; there won’t be a Marta forever; there won’t be a Cristiane,” she said. “Women’s football is relying on you for its survival. Think about this: Value it more. Cry at the beginning to smile at the end.”
Marta was talking about the years of effort required to be able to compete at this level. Despite all their sacrifice and talent, she and her teammates were never able to win the World Cup.
France, even with a powerhouse United States team looming, at least still has a chance.
Source : NYtimes
