The quarter final match pitching FIFA Women’s World Cup defending champions, United States of America (USA) and the host nation-France billed for Friday, June 28 at Parc de Prince in Paris has sent jitters down the spines of average French fan.
The match will see one of great teams in the on-going global football fiesta crashing out of the competition. This is because anyone of the teams that will be eliminated on Friday has definitely not achieved their purpose of participating in this edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final.
From the onset this tricky match up has been envisaged especially after the draws for France 2019 was made and teams put in their groups. Both countries knew before now that this date will surely come upon them.
And for this reason both countries have been trying to find the right mix to outsmart the other and this will be put to test on June 28 in Paris.
But methinks that France would have avoided this potential early elimination if they had played it easy in the group stage by finishing either second or third best loser than to top Group A with maximum 9pts only to get on the way of the rampaging Team USA loaded to the brim.
The 3-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winners and defending champions, USA has the most complete team in the competition to defeat France. With veterans like Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Christen Press, Sydney Leroux and goals machine- Alex Morgan in Team USA, no team in France cam stand toe to toe with the Americans.
It is this intimidating credentials coupled with the experience of the Head Coach, Jill Ellis who had won both the Women’s World Cup and Olympics Gold medals with the present squad that have sent jitters down the spines of other teams including France.
Across the country from Paris , Grenoble, Reims, Rennes, Montpellier, Laval to the remotest town in France, fans are not sure of their home team can beat USA to advance with many arguing that France should have avoid USA from the Group stage where they had the opportunity of not finishing top of the group with match against Nigeria.
But that has become an academic exercise as the inevitable classic tie between the two top teams in the world today will still happen along the way in this competition and there is no better time to show character by the French team than on Friday.
The French whose best finish in the competition is a distant 4th position in Germany in 2011 will like to throw the kitchen sink at their more illustrious Americans in order to progress to the last four teams at least. Time will tell if this objective will be achieved on Friday.
Indeed, it will be one match that will define how much women’s football has developed in 28 years of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final.
And there is no better time to pitch the world leaders against each other than now although the French are under an immense pressure to win on Friday in front of their fans.
