Sakina Karchaoui of France and Ghizlane Chebbak of Morocco throughout the FIFA Ladies’s World Cup spherical of 16 match, in Adelaide on August 8, 2023.
| Picture Credit score: Sarah Reed
France issued a Ladies’s World Cup warning on August 8 to arrange a tasty quarter-final conflict in opposition to Australia, with Colombia becoming a member of them within the final eight and going through England.
A rampant France scored 3 times in eight minutes in a first-half blitz as they gained 4-0 to deliver Morocco’s fairytale run to a brutal finish.
Veteran striker Eugenie Le Sommer scored twice, as soon as in every half, and Kadidiatou Diani and Kenza Dali had been additionally on the scoresheet in Adelaide.
Herve Renard’s facet will now play co-hosts Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, with the winners of that occurring to play both England or Colombia within the semi-finals.
“We fulfilled our goal. You all the time need a bit bit extra, nevertheless it’s advantageous,” Renard advised broadcaster M6.
France had been knocked out within the quarter-finals as hosts in 2019, shedding to eventual winners america.
A win in opposition to Australia will see them equal their best-ever efficiency on the World Cup, after they bought to the final 4 in 2011.
“We’ve got matched our efficiency of 4 years in the past, however our goal was to do higher than we did in 2011, so we all know what we’ve got left to do,” Renard mentioned.
Requested if his facet might beat the Matildas in entrance of a hostile crowd, he added: “We’re able to doing it nevertheless it gained’t be straightforward, albeit not straightforward for both crew.”
Whereas France are determined to win a primary main girls’s worldwide title, Morocco got here into the sport with the stress off, their World Cup already an enormous success.
They recovered from a 6-0 thrashing to Germany on their World Cup debut to exceed all expectations by defeating Colombia and South Korea to achieve the knockout rounds.
Colombia make historical past
Colombia reached the quarterfinals for the primary time and a gathering with England after a 1-0 win over Jamaica.
Skipper Catalina Usme scored the one objective of the sport in Melbourne within the 51st minute, bringing the ball down expertly and bending it into the underside nook.
It was the primary time on the match that Jamaica had conceded a objective.
It set a cagey recreation alight and despatched the pumping pro-Colombian crowd into deafening delirium.
Fired up, Jamaica nearly had a right away reply with Jody Brown’s shot cleared off the road.
Behind for the primary time on the World Cup and going through the exit door, Jamaica deserted their defensive posture and threw gamers ahead frantically in search of the equaliser.
Drew Spence nearly grabbed it with a header that spun simply broad, however Colombia held on.
They’ll play European champions England in Sydney on Saturday.
James says sorry
England will likely be lacking attacker Lauren James after she was despatched off for stamping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie of their last-16 recreation on Monday.
England went on to squeeze by means of on penalties.
The 21-year-old James apologised on Tuesday.
“All my love and respect to you,” James tweeted to Alozie, who had written on social media that she had “all respect for Lauren James”.
“I’m sorry for what occurred,” James added.
Within the different quarter-finals, Spain play the 2019 runners-up the Netherlands, and Sweden — who despatched holders america residence — face Japan.
Jamaican name for assist
Jamaica bowed out however made historical past of their very own, profitable a World Cup recreation for the primary time with a 1-0 victory over Panama and holding closely fancied Brazil and France to goalless attracts.
However regardless of boasting the prolific Manchester Metropolis striker Khadija Shaw, Jamaica’s lack of targets proved to be their undoing — they scored only one all match, in opposition to Panama.
It was a victory, although, of kinds within the crew’s wider battle with their federation — they hope their shows will imply extra assist in future from Jamaican soccer bosses.
“Clearly we want some assist from primarily the federal government,” mentioned coach Lorne Donaldson, whose crew has been in a row with their federation over pay and circumstances.
“Hopefully now we are able to all come collectively and attempt to determine one thing out so we don’t do issues hodgepodge on a regular basis,” he added.