Jonathan Liew was in Adelaide to watch France’s win over Morocco. Here’s his report.
The quarter-final line up
Spain v Netherlands (Wellington, Friday, 1pm local time/2am BST)
Japan v Sweden (Auckland, Friday, 7.30pm local time/ 8.30am BST)
Australia v France (Brisbane, Saturday, 5pm local time/8am BST)
England v Colombia (Sydney, Saturday, 8.30pm local time/11.30am BST)
While we wait for the match report, Suzanne Wrack has written about the reaction to Lauren James’ red card yesterday.
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Full time: France 4-0 Morocco
France will play the hosts Australia in a mouthwatering quarter-final after an easy victory over Morocco. The match was effectively over after 23 minutes, when Eugenie Le Sommer put France 3-0 up after earlier goals from Kadiadiatou Diani and Kenza Dali.
Le Sommer got her second in a low-key second half, and Morocco’s glorious campaign petered out. They have still made history. Now France, who have scored 10 in their last two games, hope to do the same – by winning the World Cup for the first time.
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90+1 min: Double substitution for France Viviane Asseyi and Aissatou Tounakara replace Sakina Karchaoui, who is arguably the player of the match, and Kadidiatou Diani.
90 min I wonder if the referee Tori Penso will get marked down for that by the Fifa assessors. She should have sent Ait El Haj off twice, but with the game already over she decided to show a bit of compassion.
88 min Ait El Haj loses the ball to Bacha, then boots her up in the air. That should have been a second yellow, but the referee decided not to end Morocco’s feelgood campaign with a red card.
87 min Karchaoui and Bacha have combined so well on the left for France. Their battle with Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso in the quarter-final should be fascinating.
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84 min Morocco would love a goal to take home with them but it doesn’t look unlikely. They’ve had only one attempt at goal in the match.
82 min El Chad looks okay to continue.
81 min: Double substitution for France Naomie Feller and Estelle Cascarino replace Eugenie Le Sommer, who scored twice, and Eve Perisset.
80 min El Chad lands awkwardly after being shoved over by Diani. This could be a shoulder injury.
77 min Diani misses a great chance, crashing De Almeida’s cross over the bar from six yards. It came to hear on the half-volley, which made it slightly more difficult, though she would probably score eight times out of 10.
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74 min It’s a slight surprise that France haven’t made more substitutions, but I suppose a number of these players were rested for the Panama game.
73 min “Matildas will have their work cut out for them against Les Bleues,” says John Burrell. “ They seem a much more potent side than Sweden, although France (5th) are ranked below Sweden (3rd). I’ll be at the game hoping for a minor miracle and the dream to continue.”
You did beat them last month, and it was a strong France XI. I’d make it about 60/40 in France’s favour.
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Bacha found Becho on the right wing, with Redouani for company. Becho slowed down, then suddenly shifted the ball down the line and hit a devastating cross to the far post. It took Er-Rmichi out of the game and gave Le Sommer a simple header from four yards.
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GOAL! France 4-0 Morocco (Le Sommer 70)
Eugenie Le Sommer gets her second after a delicious cross from the teenage Vicki Becho.
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70 min The free-kick leads to a bit of a scramble in the Morocco area, with both Renard and De Almeida having shots blocked.
69 min Ait El Haj, on a yellow card, gets a final warning after cynically blocking Bacha. She might have been sent off for that.
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68 min Karchaoui shoots straight at Er-Rmichi from 20 yards after an enterprising run infield. France are coasting through the second half, with nothing like the intensity that blew away Morocco in the first half hour.
66 min Ayane wins Morocco’s first corner of the game. An inswinger is claimed with authority by Peyraud-Magnin.
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64 min: Triple substitution for Morocco Sarah Kassi, Sofia Bouftini and Spurs’ Rosella Ayane replace Elodie Nakkach, Fatima Tagnaout and Anissa Lahmari.
64 min: France substitution Vicki Becho replaces Sandie Toletti, who was immaculate in midfield.
62 min Dali’s cross is missed at the near post by Er-Rmichi and rebounds to safety off the unsighted Le Sommer. Had she controlled it, she would have had an open goal.
60 min Lahmari is late on Toletti, who waves her hands in protest. The referee was following the ball, though there wasn’t enough for a yellow card anyway.
59 min Meanwhile, here’s David Squires latest cartoon.
57 min Ait El Haj is booked for a very late tackle on Le Sommer. She essentially ran her over.
53 min Chebbak’s cross is well claimed by Peyraud-Magnin; then Renard blocks a long-range shot. Morocco are at least playing with more conviction in attack.
50 min Bacha’s cross is headed away to Geyoro on the edge of the box. She takes a touch and whistles a shot that is very well blocked by El Chad.
49 min: Chance for Morocco! Lahmari, on the right wing, curls a beautiful pass around De Almeida to put Jraidi through on goal. She tries to go round the outrushing Peyard-Magnin, who dives to knock the ball against Jraidi and behind for a goalkick.
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48 min “The quarterfinals look set up to be exceptional,” writes Robyn Schelenz. “Not sure who I would pick to get through… and as an American, hard to find a place for the U.S. among these teams this year, sadly.”
What makes it even more exciting is that there’s a very good chance we’ll have a new name on the trophy. Japan are the only team left in the competition who have been world champions before.
46 min Lahmari curls wide from the edge of the area after 20-odd seconds, though it wouldn’t have counted as she was offside.
46 min Peep peep! Morocco begin the second half, with a Fuji to climb. No substitutions yet.
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Half time: France 3-0 Morocco
There will be no shocks in Adelaide tonight. France are strolling into the last eight after outclassing Morocco in a one-sided first half. Kadidiatou Diani, Kenza Dali and Eugenie Le Sommer all scored in a devastating nine-minute period that killed the game by the end of the first quarter.
45+2 min Redouani’s clearance is blocked and ricochets towards Diani in the area. She heads it past Er-Rmichi and goes down. There was a bit of contact, though it doesn’t matter because Diani was offside.
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45 min Three minutes of added time.
44 min Another advantage of this scoreline is that France will be able to rest a number of their players in the second half. It’s a tight turnaround to the Australia game on Saturday morning, and they also have a long flight to Wellington.
41 min Bacha’s cutback is cleared by Benzina but only as far as Toletti, 25 yards from goal. She chests it and shoots just wide of the near post. Er-Rmichi probably had it covered.
40 min Er-Rmichi runs to the edge of her area to beat Diani to a through pass.
39 min “France is not, as the saying goes, effing around,” says Robyn Schelenz, though she didn’t say ‘effing’. “But Morocco isn’t this bad ... I don’t think. Whatever their plan is clearly didn’t work, feels like they need a bit of a mentality change. Maybe that’s just my admiration for them (and their beautiful kit) speaking.”
I thought their kit was the best at the men’s World Cup too. You can’t beat a full logo, name and symbol, on a football kit. See also: the gorgeous Roma third kit of 2019-20.
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37 min Nothing much is happening. Both teams know, deep down, that the game is already over.
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35 min “In France for a few days and the locals here in Nice are, I think it’s probably fair to say, not overly enthusiastic so far about the game taking place,” says Simon McMahon. “ Which is a pity if you ask me. Maybe they’re preoccupied with the upcoming rugby World Cup? I’m sure, or at least I hope, that will change as we get to the business end. Alllez Les Bleues!”
I’m sure it will. The quarter-final against Australia is a 9am kick-off (I think), which is perfect.
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33 min Chebbak is a bit fortunate to avoid a yellow card for a poor tackle on Le Sommer.
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32 min Morocco haven’t had a touch in the France penalty area.
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31 min A promising Morocco attack breaks down when Jraidi’s through ball is cut out by Renard.
29 min Diani stabs the ball infield to Bacha, who hits the side netting from a tight angle. The movement of the two wide attackers, Bacha and Dali, has been superb.
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28 min France are playing with a relaxed ruthlessness and look hungry for more goals. Mismatch or not, this has been an eye-catching performance.
26 min France v Australia will be a humdinger of a quarter-final. They met in a warm-up game just before the tournament, with Mary Fowler’s goal giving Australia a 1-0 win.
25 min It looks like Morocco will end the tournament as they started it, with a heavy defeat, though that won’t really detract from the glory of their Women’s World Cup appearance.
That wasn’t a great goal for Morocco to concede. El Chad tried to shepherd the ball out for a goalkick, then changed her mind and tried to put the ball out for a throw-in. It hit Diani and ricocheted infield to Le Sommer, who cracked an emphatic first-time shot across Er-Rmichi.
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GOAL! France 3-0 Morocco (Le Sommer 23)
France will play Australia in the World Cup quarter-finals.
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23 min This looks a game too far for Morocco, who are being outclassed by an excellent France side.
Renard’s clipped pass was volleyed imaginatively by Dali to release Diani in the inside-right channel. Diani cut the ball back to Dali, 15 yards out, and she swept a first-time shot into the net via the far post. Le Sommer was in an offside position but she wasn’t in Er-Rmichi’s eyeline, so the goal stands.
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GOAL! France 2-0 Morocco (Dali 20)
France are far too good, and Kenza Dali has made it two.
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19 min “Not a great idea to leave France’s most dangerous player with many hectares of space around her,” says Charles Antaki. “Can you plant a decisive header while smoking a cigar, sipping a cup of tea and admiring the view? This one looked like a good candidate.”
I knew a cup of tea would be involved in this World Cup at some stage.
17 min Diani is now one behind Hinata Miyazawa in the race for the Golden Boot.
That’s Diani’s fourth of the tournament, following a hat-trick against Panama, and it was a well-worked goal. De Almeida stepped out of defence with authority and gave the ball to Karchaoui on the left. She played a slick one-two with Bacha and lifted a precise cross into the six-yard box, where the unmarked Diani had a simple header.
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GOAL! France 1-0 Morocco (Diani 15)
Kadidiatou Diani picks up where she left off against Panama.
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14 min Diana shoots over from distance.
12 min Bacha’s fierce cross from the left is pushed away at the near post by the diving Er-Rmichi, with Diani waiting behind her to score. Morocco need to keep the ball better because at the moment their defence is getting little respite.
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9 min France continue to push for the first goal, though Morocco’s defence look relatively comfortable at the moment.
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6 min Karchaoui angles a deep cross from the left towards Le Sommer. Benzina, again wearing a hijab, wins the header but only clear it as far as Dali, who hooks over from a tight angle.
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5 min France have settled quickly and look confident in possession.
2 min Dali’s driven cross from the right finds Bacha, who flips the ball cleverly over Nakkach but then runs out of space. Goalkick to Morocco.
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1 min Peep peep! France kick off from left to right as we watch.
The players line up for the anthems on a chilly night in Adelaide. Here’s a reminder of the two teams.
France (possible 4-4-1-1) Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, De Almeida, Renard, Karchaoui; Dali, Geyoro, Toletti, Bacha; Le Sommer; Diani.
Substitutes: Durand, Picaud, Lakrar, Fazer, Majri, Mateo, Tounkara, Le Garrec, Asseyi, Feller, Cascarino, Becho.
Morocco (possible 4-4-2) Er-Rmichi; Ait El Haj, El Chad, Benzina, Redouani; Ouzraoui, Nakkach, Chebbak, Tagnaout; Lahmari, Jraidi.
Substitutes: Zouhair, Arouaissa, Kassi, Amani, Badri, Seghir, Mazrouai, Gharbi, Chapelle, Bouftini, Mrabet, Ayane.
Referee Tori Penso (USA)
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The quarter-final line up
Spain v Netherlands (Friday, Wellington, 1pm local time/2am BST)
Japan v Sweden (Friday, Auckland, 7.30pm local time/ 8.30am BST)
Australia v France or Morocco (Saturday, Brisbane, 5pm local time/8am BST)
England v Colombia (Saturday, Sydney, 8.30pm local time/11.30am BST)
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Here’s Jo Khan’s match report on Colombia’s victory over Jamaica, which puts them into the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
The route to World Cup glory for France and Morocco
Quarter-final Australia
Semi-final England/Colombia
Final Spain/Netherlands/Japan/Sweden
Some pre-match listening
Team news: Renard, Le Sommer return, Morocco unchanged
France, who rested some players against Panama, make five changes from that game. The captain Wendie Renard, Sakina Karchaoui, Kenza Dali, Sandie Toletti and Eugenie Le Sommer replace Maelle Lakrar, Estelle Cascarino, Vicki Becho, Lea Le Garrec and Clara Mateo.
Morocco stick with the XI that beat Colombia 1-0 in their final group game.
France (possible 4-4-1-1) Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, De Almeida, Renard, Karchaoui; Dali, Geyoro, Toletti, Bacha; Le Sommer; Diani.
Substitutes: Durand, Picaud, Lakrar, Fazer, Majri, Mateo, Tounkara, Le Garrec, Asseyi, Feller, Cascarino, Becho.
Morocco (possible 4-4-2) Er-Rmichi; Ait El Haj, El Chad, Benzina, Redouani; Ouzraoui, Nakkach, Chebbak, Tagnaout; Lahmari, Jraidi.
Substitutes: Zouhair, Arouaissa, Kassi, Amani, Badri, Seghir, Mazrouai, Gharbi, Chapelle, Bouftini, Mrabet, Ayane.
Referee Tori Penso (USA)
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Colombia will play England in the quarter-finals after beating Jamaica 1-0 today. Catalina Usme scored a classy winning goal in the 51st minute.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the final game of the round of 16: France v Morocco, for the right to play the hosts Australia in Sydney on Saturday. Morocco, who are managed by the former France international Reynald Pedros, have already caused one seismic shock on their World Cup debut by eliminating Germany. They lost their opening game 6-0 to the Germans before recovering to beat both Korea and Colombia 1-0 and qualify gloriously, albeit with an unlikely goal difference of -4.
France’s progress was more comfortable, if not quite as smooth as we might have expected. They were held to a goalless draw by Jamaica, needed a late Wendie Renard winner against Brazil and went behind to Panama before winning a madcap game 6-3. They are huge favourites today, though that hasn’t counted for much at this tournament.
The Germany match aside, Morocco have a terrific recent defensive record: in the nine other games they have played in 2023, they have conceded only four goals. If they are to cause another almighty surprise, their defence will have to be immaculate for 90 minutes, probably 120.
Kick off midday BST, 8.30pm in Adelaide, 1pm in Paris, midday in Rabat.
