The game: 1-0
The French team only needed a draw against Slovenia on Tuesday to validate its ticket to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She did better by winning without shining, and by the narrowest margins (1-0) in the MMArena at Le Mans, against the enterprising Slovenians in the first period but soon physically limited. The light came from Lyonnaise Delphine Cascarino, who scored the only goal of the game (48th) after returning from the dressing room.
Les Bleues timidly returned to their game, despite the good activity of Clara Matéo or Delphine Cascarino. Corinne Deacon’s players were even given a serious warning early in the game, when a long shot from Slovenian captain Mateja Zver alerted an Imperial Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (see elsewhere). The Slovenian goal from a corner was logically disallowed for offside.
Subsequently, the French struggled for a long time to be really dangerous on Zala Mersnik’s target, exposing themselves to counterattacks from enterprising Slovenians. However, the face of the French team was not the same after the break. From the start Cascarino heralded the uprising by victoriously taking over a cross from Clara Matéo (48th, see elsewhere). The blue waves then followed each other into the Slovenian surface, without doubling the stakes.
So minimal service, but contract completed for the Blue, with this qualification for the World Cup. Take it easy on the next challenge from Corinne Deacon and her players: the European Championship in England this summer.
The player: Delphine Cascarino as boss
While Marie-Antoinette Katoto struggled to shine on the Le Mans lawn, it was from the right wing of the French team that the danger came for the Slovenians. In addition to her liberating goal, de Lyonnaise shone with her runs and her energy as she got a center from Baltimore, especially during the first act where the Bleues struggled to develop their game.
The fact: the decisive parade of Pauline Peyraud-Magnin
We played the 10th minute in the MMArena when Mateja Zver thought he was overloading the Le Mans crowd with a long shot. Fortunately for the French team, goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin made a decisive save and kept a clean sheet. In the corner that followed, the Slovenians scored a goal that was immediately disallowed for offside. The storm was over for the Blues.
