2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: France vs Morocco Preview

Written by Albert Echatah

On Tuesday, France and Morocco will battle it out for a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup when both countries face at the Hindmarsh Stadium.

With seven points, the Europeans finished first in their group, and Morocco advanced to the knockout stage at the expense of 2-time champions Germany.

France

France hopes to go deep into another major tournament after making it all the way to the semi-finals of the European Championships last year. On Tuesday, they have a chance to make it all the way to the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals for the fourth time in a row.

Having lost just one of their last 11 international matches, they will undoubtedly enter the knockout phase on the strength of a strong run of results. Wendie Renard, the captain of France, and Eugenie Le Sommer, the nation’s all-time leading scorer, are anticipated to start after being rested for the last group match.

Form

France up the tempo in their second group match against Brazil to secure a pivotal 2-1 victory after being subjected to a frustrating goalless draw against Jamaica.

Kadidiatou Diani netted a sensational hattrick as the France easily defeated Panama 6-3 in their last group match. Maëlle Lakrar, Vicki Bècho, and Léa Le Garrec all contributed to the victory.

Player’s to watch

France’s Kadidiatou Diani has contributed to four of their eight goals at this tournament (G3, A1). Diani scored an hattrick in her last game against Panama, The 28-year-old has had a total of 13 shots in her last 3 games at the 2023 FIFA women’s world cup.

Morocco

As they attempt to defeat a French team that is ranked 67 places higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings, Morocco will be hoping that an unforgettable tournament still has at least one chapter yet to be written.

Reynald Pedros, the head coach of Morocco, might be enticed to stick with the starting lineup from the victory over Colombia. Hanane Ait El Haj and Zineb Redouani will play as the two full-backs, while Nesrryne El Chad and Nouhaila Ben Zina will play in the center of defense.

Form

After falling to Germany 6-0 in their opening match of their maiden Women’s World Cup, Morocco would have been preparing for a challenging competition. But on Matchday Two, the ‘Atlas Lionesses’ recovered and gained confidence by defeating South Korea by a slim 1-0 margin.

In their last group match against the Colombia, they pulled the chestnut out of the fire by picking up the much needed win to join Colombia in the round of 16.

Player’s to watch

Anissa Lahmari’s decisive rebound against Colombia sent her side into the knockout stage of the 2023 FIFA women’s world cup. Lahmari will be hoping to score the second goal of the tournament.

Head-To-Head

This is going to be the first ever match between France and Morocco.

Hot stat

Even despite conceding six against Germany, Morocco’s last ten games have produced just 17 total goals. France have lost only one of their ten games across competitions this year.

Possible Lineup

France: Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, Lakrar, Renard, Karchaoui; Toletti, Geyoro, Dali; Diani, Bacha, Le Sommer

Morocco: Errmichi; El Haj, El Chad, Ben Zina, Redouani; Ouzraoui, Nakkach, Chebbak, Tagnaout; Jraidi, Lahmari

Verdict

After losing their opening match 6-0 to Germany, Morocco pulled off an astonishing turnaround to advance to the knockout rounds. However, we believe that Morocco’s world cup run will come to an end against a French team that have proven they have the attacking prowess to score plenty of goals.

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