A small goal, a narrow victory and a ticket to the World Cup. The French women’s football team validated its ticket to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday, April 12, winning by the narrowest margin (1-0) against Slovenia in the MMArena du Mans, on the final day of the European qualifying . Evening scorer Delphine Cascarino delivered the French women on the return from the dressing room (48th), after an initial period in which they were mistreated by their opponents. Thanks to this eighth success in as many matches, Les Bleues sign an almost perfect qualifying campaign and finish well at the top of Group I (24 points).
They just needed a little spark. Delphine Cascarino, one of the most prominent Tricolores, returned from the locker room after a long run of possession and delivered the Blues by throwing herself into the area to take over a center from Clara Matéo, narrowly missed by Marie-Antoinette Katoto, transparent tonight.
Freed, Corinne Deacon’s players controlled the second act and kept the pressure on Zala Mersnik’s goal, without doubling the lead. Anyway, the main thing was elsewhere. With this win, their twelfth in a row, the French women are guaranteed to compete in the fifth World Cup in their history, four years after the 2019 edition at home.
And yet the first period was difficult on the lawn of the MMArena of Le Mans. Facing the group’s number two at kick-off, Les Bleues controlled the ball, but struggled to build up hard attacks. Surprisingly feverish (like Sandy Baltimore’s slide as she entered the penalty area just after 41 minutes), Corinne Deacon’s players didn’t quite manage to find themselves on the ground and lacked success in their offensives. On the other hand, Slovenia remained on the lookout and proved dangerous due to the defensive mistakes of the French (9th, 39th, 43rd), saved by an Imperial Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. Before Cascarino takes matters into his own hands.
If we had to wait until the last day to validate qualifying, the French team never really wavered in this campaign. With eight wins in eight games, Les Bleues finished well ahead of Wales, second, on eight points. Driven by incredible offensive momentum (40 goals and just three against), the French have mastered their subject from first to last opposition. What to get ready for their next deadline, the European Championship, to be held in England this summer.
