When you think of football/soccer, there is one country that stands out more than any other nation in the sport, in terms of the accomplishments of the national team, as well as the individual players.
France Outlasts Tough Brazilian Side to Advance to Quarterfinals
The host nation, France, was widely considered the favorites to defeat the Brazilians in this first elimination round game for both squads.
However, Brazil played a very physical, tough game, and it was clear that their strategy was basically to slow the game down, and effectively kills whatever momentum the more talented French side could muster.
The result was a slow-paced contest, and an uncertain outcome. While most expected that France was the better team and that they would go on to win the game, it seemed that opportunities were few and far between.
France actually scored a goal that was disallowed. French forward Valérie Gauvin and Brazilian keeper Bárbara raced towards the ball in the 24th minute, and Gauvin was able to beat her and get the ball to the back of the net. But after reviewing it, the refs decided to call it a no goal, and the game went back to 0-0. Obviously, that was a disappointing result for France.
However, they did recover, and she was able to get another opportunity. It was Valérie Gauvin again who got another chance in the 52nd minute, and she punched it through to finally give France the goal that it felt it should have had half an hour earlier. This time, the goal counted, and France was up, 1-0. It showed real character to overcome that initial disappointment and stay with it.
Yet, Brazil was resilient and opportunistic throughout this game, and they did manage to respond. Brazil’s Thaisa Moreno tied it in the 64th minute. That meant that the two sides were tied up at 1-1.
And then the game became stalemate. Clearly, this was not going to be a lopsided win for either team. France played tough defensively, even though Brazil had some opportunities. Quite possibly, they had the better opportunities.
The game went to overtime, and very late in the first overtime, Brazil almost took an important lead with a near goal by Debinha in the final minute of the first session of extra time (the 104th minute). She actually had French keeper Sarah Bouhaddi beaten, but absolutely brilliant defending Griedge Mbock Bathy prevented the otherwise sure goal. It was a brilliant save to avoid what would otherwise have been a huge goal that might have completely altered the momentum in the game. It very well might have saved France from what would have been a shocking and, frankly, very disappointing early exit.
After that, France finally took advantage of one brilliant opportunity. Captain Amandine Henry scored what turned out to be the game-winner in the 107th minute. She knocked it in, and just like that, France was back up, 2-1. France actually had a couple of good chances after that to put the thing on ice, but none of them quite went in.
Brazil began to focus a lot less on defense, and much more on offense. But the French defense, which had been stellar for most of the game, held up. They made the lead stand, and the French side was able to stall and kill time enough for the window of opportunity to finally close on Brazil, once and for all.
Some of the Brazilian players sank down to the ground in crushing disappointment, sensing that this was a huge opportunity missed to knock out a heavy favorite, as well as the host nation. Clearly, they had a chance to pull off what would have been a truly huge win.
There are revealing statistics that show just how close this game was. The possession was split evenly between the two sides at 50/50. But in some ways, the French side enjoyed decisive advantages that likely underscored why they managed to win. France had nine goal attempts, to merely three for Brazil. There were 18 fouls by Brazil, to only 8 by the French. It was a very physical game, and Brazil took chances in playing physically, almost to a fault, at times. It clearly slowed France down.
Brazil is an older team, and they were not expected to be able to keep up with the fresher legs of France. They did everything that they had to in order to give themselves a chance, and for that, they deserve credit. But France, also to their credit, remained patient. It was a frustrating game, one in which they clearly did not shine as brightly as most people believed they were capable of. Still, they hung in there, and in the end, they managed to pull off an important win that keeps them in the tournament. Tougher challenges may lay ahead, but this was a win when they were not playing at their best, and allows them to remain in a tournament that they are hosting, and which expectations for them remain high. It should help boost their confidence, and it is a testament to their demeanor to have kept their cool while constantly being smothered and fouled by the Brazilian team. A solid win, and one which France deserved, even if it did not come as easily or as convincingly as so many people seemed to believe that France would be able to achieve on this day.
Yes, Brazil managed to keep within reach until the end, but ultimately, France manages to survive, at least until the next round. They now await the winner of the United States and Spain, which will take place later on today.
In the other elimination round game yesterday, England defeated Ghana, 3-0, but the results were largely overshadowed by a reaction from Cameroon's players and the coach which many have been highly critical of, and many have suggested was very unsportsmanlike. Alexi Lalas pointed out some of these excesses, which included meetings on the field that actually delayed the game, spitting on an opponent, yelling at injured opponents, an unintentional elbow to the face, and a couple of penalties that Cameroon actually got away with which Lalas suggested could "easily have been red cards."
Here is his take on the game:
In a postgame interview with FOX Sports, England’s coach Phil Neville actually talked more about that, then about anything that happened on the field. He talked about the bigger picture, and suggested that his team had handled the adverse situation quite well. He was disappointed that this behavior overshadowed his team’s effort.
Video shows many of the players freaking out and reacting in a very emotional manner. It should be noted that one of Cameroons goals was disallowed, even though it appears to many that it was indeed a legitimate goal, and that Cameroon may have been robbed. It is unfortunate, although the reaction was quite excessive and unjustified.
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