That’s more like it, Les Bleues. After failing to fire on all cylinders in its first two games, France saved its best performance for last with a 5-0 destruction of Mexico in its final group game. The French, who are now priced at +650 to win the World Cup, won Group F with that victory to set up their round of 16 meeting with South Korea.
The Taeguk Ladies haven’t been able to keep opponents out of their goal for the entire tournament. Do they have a shot of silencing the French forwards? Read on as we preview this Women’s World Cup round of 16 matchup.
Les Bleues were hyped as being one of the teams to beat heading into the tournament, but fell way short of living up to said hype with incomplete performances in their 1-0 win over England and their shock 2-0 loss to Colombia. The French finally put it all together, though, in their 5-0 mauling of Mexico in their final group game.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Marie Laure Delie scored in just 34 seconds – the second-fastest World Cup goal ever – to put the French in front with her 59th career international goal. The game was basically over by halftime thanks to a Mexico own-goal and a Eugenie Le Sommer brace which made it 4-0. Amandine Henry put the finishing touches with a goal 10 minutes from time.
France will face a well-organized South Korean defense, but Le Bleues’ depth and quality up front should be too much for their Asian opposition. Those two qualities were in full display against Mexico, where France didn’t even have its strongest lineup to start. Louise Necib – arguably Les Bleues’ most talented player – was one of the players to make way in the first 11 for Delie and Henry, who both scored.
Necib, who has 32 goals in 128 career caps, hasn’t performed as well as expected in this World Cup. But it’s just a matter of time before a player of her undoubted quality makes her presence felt. With South Korea likely to play a more cautious game against the French, Necib’s ability to unlock that defense will be crucial in France’s success.
Betting on South Korea
South Korea should consider itself a little bit lucky to still be alive in the tournament. Kim Sooyun’s very fortuitous cross-come-shot (see 0:54 mark of the video above) gave the Taeguk Ladies the crucial 2-1 win over Spain, their first ever World Cup win. The Koreans are now 1-4-1 all-time in the World Cup after they lost 2-0 to Brazil and agonizingly drew 2-2 with Costa Rica in their other two group games.
Although South Korea conceded a goal in each of its three group games, the team is typically very solid and well-organized defensively. That defense held the USA to a goalless draw in a pre-World Cup friendly at the end of May. The Taeguk Ladies will likely revert to a very compact formation and will look to make things as hard as possible for France’s prolific attack.
South Korea won’t go venturing forward too often to avoid exposing its backline to the French forwards, but when it does attack, it can do so very effectively. Ji So-yun (39 goals in 78 caps) is one of the best attacking midfielders today, and striker Park Eunsun (18 goals in 34 caps) also knows her way in front of goal.
And as the Colombians showed when they defeated France 2-0, the French can be undone at the back. With some solid defending and well-executed counterattacks, the Koreans are certainly capable of pulling off the big upset.
Writer’s Prediction
France scores early and picks South Korea apart for a 3-1 win. Create a betting account now and pick your winners for all the Women’s World Cup knockout round matches.
