1. The start
For South Korea to have had any chance in this game, they needed to be at their best right from the beginning. They knew full well of the quality that forwards Eugiene Le Sommer, Elodie Thomis, Louisa Necib and Marie-Laure Delie possessed on the break; a potent mix, capable of fatal consequences. Unfortunately for the Group E runners-up, they struggled immediately as the referee’s first whistle sounded. The focus wasn’t quite there, the sharpness was missing and South Korea were as a result, punished.
The favourites asserted their dominance after just 280 seconds. Laure Boulleau was influential, making a darting run and offering a one-two before Delie was on hand to slot past the helpless Kim Jungmi. A slightly scuffed finish, but it went in and that is all that matters. The momentum shifted (if it wasn’t already) to the French. As a result, France quickly found the second. This time it was Thomis driving into the South Korean box and lifting the ball past the keeper. The game was practically won before it had properly got going.
2. The restart
South Korea failed to learn from the first half’s opening exchanges and practically repeated it after the break. That being said, the majority of the credit must go to the French for the fierce and fiery restart that they delivered. Le Sommer this time the creator, driving into the box and again causing Korean chaos. She found Delie who had ‘busted a gut’ to reach the 6 yard box where the ball was handed to her, and a composed, clinical finish killed the game.
3. French complacency creeping in.
Despite France’s dominance, they remained prone to the odd Korean attack. This was largely out of their own incompetence; the odd misplaced pass and the occasional moment of miscommunication. France keeper Sarah Bouhaddi was at the centre of scrutiny once more. She failed to demand her box from corners, she failed to distribute the ball effectively and she was susceptible to spilling incoming shots. In the end, she kept a clean sheet, but you have to think that against better opposition, those avoidable mistakes will be capitalised on.
4. Should have been more
While the importance of those early goals cannot be understated, their impact was limited by an unexpected interruption in play. This came about as Park Eunsun clattered into her own goalkeeper Jungmi, which culminated in a lengthy stoppage of play of around four to five minutes. It disrupted France’s flow, equally puncturing the impressive atmosphere around the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. While France remained the dominant force for the remaining 25 minutes of the first half, the urgency that the first two goals were born out of was slightly lacking and the chances they did get were not taken. You have to feel that it would have been a ‘floodgates opening’ situation had France been able to quickly continue in the ilk of their first two goals.
5. South Korea outclassed and out
At the end of the day, South Korea simply weren’t good enough. They were reduced to taking pop-shots from long-range which did little to kindle belief that they could actually win the game. The set pieces were where they had to make something stick, however again they lacked quality. As mentioned, French keeper Bouhaddi looked hesitant, and had the South Koreans applied a little more pressure, they may well have scraped something from this game.
“You make your own luck”. If that is the case, then perhaps the Koreans didn’t quite play well enough for the French mistakes to fall in their favour.
Woman of the match – Élodie Thomis
There were many contenders for this award – any one of the French front three could have had it. But for me, French forward Thomis was powerful, pacey and packed the punch that France really needed. Playing out wide, she regularly offered width to the French attacks. Her goal and France’s second was a superb move, linking well with Le Sommer, controlling the ball under-pressure, and lifting it beyond Jungmi and into the net. Ever-present, always moving and an absolute nightmare to mark from a Korean perspective. If France are to be successful in the next round, expect her to be involved in one way or another.
