WWC, France vs Korea Republic: France face test of Fire..by Elume Raymond – Sports Analyst

 Finally, the wait is nearly over. The Women’s World Cup kicks off in just a few days in France
and for most, the first whistle at Parc des Princes in Paris can’t come soon enough.
While we, as fans, can dare to dream of winning the whole thing, the teams will only be
thinking of their first game on Friday. It’s standard preparation mode for a major tournament to
save players from the getting overwhelmed by looking any further into a potential four-week
pilgrimage.



The players won’t want to expend any unnecessary energy as, needless to say, it is an intense
experience for them. How they deal with it varies; some thrive off the nerves, others less so.
Experience will play its part; the likes of Elise Bussaglia and fellow veteran Cho Soh-yun will be
treating the opener in Paris as just another game. And it would come as no surprise to see a big
smile on Gaetane Thinney’s face if she takes to the field after earning a controversial call-up to
the World Cup.

Previous Meetings
FIFA WWC USA 2003 - 25 September 2003 Group B: France – Korea Republic: 1-0.


FIFA WWC CANADA 2015 - 21 June 2015 Round of 16: France – Korea Republic: 3-0.



Recent form
France
10 Nov 2018: France-Brazil: 3-1
19 Jan 2019: France-USA: 3-1
8 Apr 2019: France-Denmark: 4-0
25 May 2019: France-Thailand: 3-0
31 May 2019: France-China: 2-1
Korea Republic.
28 Feb 2019: Korea-Russia: 3-1
2 Mar 2019: Sweden-Korea: 1-1
5 Mar 2019: Korea-Canada: 0-3
6 Apr 2019: Korea-Iceland: 2-3
31 May 2019: Sweden-Korea: 1-0.


What France must do to win it - Strengths/Weaknesses
Four years after the Canada tournament, in which Les Bleues crashed out at the quarter-final
stage against Germany on penalties, France are back in the competition aiming to win it,
thereby emulating the men who won it for the first time when they hosted in 1998.

 Despite the fact that the core of the national team is formed of players from Lyon – who won
the Champions League for the fourth season in succession earlier this month – France have not
gone beyond the last eight in any of the recent major tournaments. One main reason for that is
the lack of efficiency up front in key games but under Corinne Diacre they have worked hard to
rectify that.



The team has a great mix of creativity and solidity in all areas. Defensively, France are a strong
unit with Renard and Griedge Mbock forming a great central partnership, Amel Majri, on the
left, is also good at initiating counterattacks.


The midfield is led by the hardworking Amandine Henry, known for her powerful shot, is often
paired with Élise Bussaglia, at 33 the oldest player in the squad and who has been playing
international football since 2003.
Up front Diacre is spoilt for choice. Eugénie Le Sommer, Valérie Gauvin, Kadi Diani, Delphine
Cascarino and Gaëtane Thiney offer France different pairings with Lyon’s Le Sommer and
Cascarino also able to play as wingers.
X-factor for the game: Delphine Cascarino.

Diacre has a very strong squad at her disposal but how the players react to the pressure of
being the hosts and one of the favourites may be decisive to how far they go in the
tournament. A nation expects.
What South Korea must do to win it - Strengths/Weaknesses
In 2010 South Korea won the Under-17 World Cup and also reached the semi-finals of the
Under-20 World Cup. With many of those players now involved with the senior team, this can
justifiably be called Korea’s Golden Generation.

Ji So-yun who has been playing for Chelsea since 2014 will need her quality and experience
which is a huge help on and off the pitch. South Korea have another outstanding creative
attacking midfielder among their ranks, Lee Min-a, Lee’s stamina and creativity can be very
useful for the team. The midfield anchor is Cho So-hyun, who can do pretty much everything.
If there is one main weakness with this team it is the defence. They always look uncomfortable
when they play against physically strong teams.
X-factor for the game: Yeo Min-ji
Defensive cohesion of the back line was the team's big issue at the previous World Cup. Against
Brazil, errant pass-backs to the goalkeeper and center back led to both of Brazil's goals. Against
Costa Rica, a defensive miscommunication allowed Melissa Herrera to nudge a free kick from
midfield over the goal line, and an egregious failure to track allowed an 89th-minute sitter. The
Taeguk Nangja are crafty, efficient and cohesive on the offensive side; if they can do it
defensively, too, they'll be a force in their second consecutive World Cup.

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