#031 - The World Cup Diaries - Day 20
The quarter-finalists await!
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We are 56 match deep into the tournament, which means there are just eight more games remaining, but on the bright side we are heading into the quarter finals.
The group H history hunters, Colombia and Morocco, were on the prowl against Jamaica, with a flawless defensive record, and a happy France (you don’t say this very often).
Let’s break down the action of the round of 16!
Match 55: Colombia 1-0 Jamaica
Both these nations were here on the back of a historic group stage campaign. Colombia beat Germany to top group H while Jamaica did not concede a single goal against the likes of Brazil and France. The Reggae Girlz managed to qualify form the group with both those powerhouses.
Their story is one of resistance and defying the odds. They overcame their own federation to get here and gave a true representation of their talent.
Jamaica were the only nation that came into the round of 16 having not conceded a single goal all tournament. Lorne Donaldson lined up his side in a 4-1-4-1 with Khadija Shaw leading the line. This transformed to a well drilled compact 4-5-1 off the ball as they looked to sit off and make it difficult to play through them.
Colombia were in their typical 4-2-3-1 formation but without the services of Manuela Vanegas at left back, it was instead the 18-year-old Ana Guzman who deputised at left back spot, playing out of position. The fluid front four with lots of potential rotation has been the talk of their campaign so far.
It was a well contested game, evenly matched between both sides. It was a contest that involved good physical strikers up front (Ramirez and Shaw) who both shrugged off challenges, some excellent creative players and runners (Drew Spence, Linda Caicedo and Jody Brown).
There was almost nothing between the two sides in terms of possession or territorial dominance. It always felt like it would take a moment of brilliance to break this one down.
Look at these two chances for Colombia. Notice any similarity?
Colombia did find a blind spot in Jamaica’s defensive organization. Two of their biggest chances came from opposite flanks but involved a similar pattern of play. It was a deep cross towards the far post over the head of the fullback. These crosses are difficult to defend but also to execute but Colombia did find success doing these and by having a target at the far post in the blind spot of the defender.
The way Colombia broke down Jamaican resistance was beautiful. The country’s all time top goalscorer stepping up again and being assisted by a player making her debut of the side playing out of position. That pass, that first touch and that finish was all pretty much perfection.
It was a symphony of the youth and the old guard. It was a nod to the past, the present and the future of Colombia in one goal.
One of my favorite things in every game Shaw plays is to watch her holdup play. She is literally a single player bulldozing figure who can shake off multiple challenges while retaining possession. The makes her an excellent outlet in attack adding further value in transition and enables her side to play vertical football. Just look at this sequence from the game against Colombia.
Guzman was playing her first ever senior World Cup game and out of position no less but you wouldn’t guess it from her performance. She was brilliant all around, showcased her good tackling (she is slightly on the aggressive side in getting stuck in) and interception ability and while her right footed nature didn’t allow her to showcase the same level of dynamism in attack, she still delivered from quality balls from deep after cutting it onto her right foot.
After impressing at the U17 WWC last year and having already made her debut for the U20 side, this progression came naturally for Guzman. The future is bright for her and Colombia have one less thing to worry about in their defence.
It’s obviously hard to take when you concede one goal all tournament and it knocks you out but such is tournament football. Jamaica have a lot to be proud of and look forward to and hopefully the federation is a supportive hand in this journey.
Colombia now face England without Lauren James in the quarter-final of the tournament. Can the fluid front four inspire them to the final four?
Match 56: France 4-0 Morocco
Morocco produced an upset to get to the knockouts, arguably the biggest one at the tournament. The Atlas Lionesses faced their biggest challenge yet in the form of Herve Renard’s France side. Another david and goliath battle for the African side who has been breaking barriers throughout the tournament.
This game had a very french vibe to it *cough* colonisation *cough*.
France and Morocco both lined up in 4-4-2 but the execution of both couldn’t be more different.
France were without Maelle Lakrar who had a slight problem and in came Elise de Almeida. Eugenie Le Sommer partnered Kadidiatou Diani up front for the Les Bleues. Morocco had Anissa Lahmari leading the line alonside Ibtissan Jraidi up front while Ghizlane Chebbak held the fort in the middle of the park.
The result quickly became an afterthought as France ran riot in the opening 25 minutes, scoring three times and the reasons for it were pretty simple.
Morocco came out with a very very poor defensive organization.
They were setup in a 4-4-2 against the ball as well but the spacing between the lines was really poor, giving all the time AND space for the French players to operate in between the lines and exploit the defence. Look at this screenshot from the game, the midfield line of four has pushed up with the front two but the defensive line has not followed leaving a big hole in between them.
This poor spacing along with really uncoordinated pressing just absolutely killed them.
It was so easy for the French to play around or through the Moroccon block for this very reason. They attempted 61 line-breaks each through and around their block.
It was as simple as a give and go out wide on the left and the defence was completly undone. Look at this sequence of play, one player jumps and is easily taken out with a dribble and then there is a nice little one-two that sets Karchaoui on her way for the cross and then there is some really poor defending and marking in the box to go along with it.
One of the most interesting things about this game was watching the synergy on the left hand side of the French attack. Sakina Karchaoui offered excellent support on the overlap and Bacha, who was operating as the left sided midfielder, would tuck inside to play that quick little one-two. The synergy stems from the fact that both these players have at some point played both left back and left wing and understands the responsibilities in both position.
We can notice this from their territory map as well, which highlights the zones of the pitch players usually occupied during the game. We can notice a lot of touches in the half-spaces in the final third from Bacha when compared to Karchaoui. The synchronized movements from the two was brilliant to watch as they undid the Moroccon defence repeatedly.
These left sided dynamics thriving is optimal for France who can target the Aussie right side with Ellie Carpenter who loves to bomb forwards. This blossoming combination will be decisive in the quarter-final tie.
Bacha’s return has been a massive boost for France. The youngster is a menace with her crossing, dynamism and engine. She is tireless worker who contributes both on and off the ball. Her set-piece delivery hasn’t been at the forefront yet but she has a wand of a left foot. Her vision is exemplary, allowing her to pick out passes in behind and over the top and recently her comfort from operating in the central zones adds further value to her stock.
For Morocco, despite this defeat, this tournament has already been a massive success based not just on how far they went but also the impact it has had on the Moroccon people. The investment from the federation has paid dividends and the country looks up to the Atlas Lionesses. They have some way to go but this is big step in the right direction.
France are very much playing as one of the tournament favorites and will have to overcome co-hosts Australian side with the fans as their 12th player. Can France do one better than last time?
Host nation coming up against a tournament favorite in the quarter-finals? I’ve seen this film before.
Highlight of the day
Photos from the past are always fun to look at.
Here is France’s record goalscorer, Eugenie Le Sommer, along with Morocco’s Salma Amani in the Lorient academy in 2004 and here they are again at the biggest stage in a World Cup playing against each other.
Brilliant this. I really liked the last two pictures. A real credit to the sport.