Women’s Euro 2022: Formidable! France answer Diacre doubters with record-breaking opening win over Italy

But
for
now,
after
dismissing
Italy
in
brutal
fashion
in
their
Women’s
Euro
2022
opener,
Les
Bleues
are
looking
simply
magnifique.

When
coach
Corinne
Diacre
left
Amandine
Henry
and
Eugenie
Le
Sommer
out
of
her
Euros
squad,
deciding
France
could
cope
without
the
Champions
League
final
player
of
the
match
and
the
national
team’s
record
goalscorer,
it
was
a
calculated
act
of
coaching
courage
that
had
the
potential
to
backfire
spectacularly.

And
it
still
might,
because
Sunday
evening’s
5-1
drubbing
in
Rotherham
taught
us
only
so
much:
on
the
front
foot,
against
opponents
whose
defending
leaves
a
lot
to
be
desired,
they
can
fill
their
boots.

Diacre
felt
Henry
and
Le
Sommer
were
not
ideal
fits
for
this
team,
and
the
coach
whose
controversy-packed
five-year
reign
makes
her
a
divisive
figure
staked
her
reputation
on
it.

France,
like
this
tournament’s
hosts,
England,
have
yet
to
win
a
major
tournament,
but
they
have
been
fancied
more
often
than
the
Lionesses
to
come
away
with
a
trophy
and
repeatedly
failed
to
deliver
on
expectations.

They
have
typically
run
into
strong
opposition
and
not
had
quite
enough.
Italy
have
a
long
way
to
come
before
they
fall
into
the
‘strong
opposition’ category,
with
the
Azzurre
recklessly
obliging
in
this
Group
D
landslide
at
the
New
York
Stadium.

France
had
set
two
Women’s
Euros
records
by
half-time,
becoming
the
first
team
to
score
five
goals
before
the
break,
with
Grace
Geyoro
the
first
player
to
hit
a
first-half
hat-trick.

Italy
had
won
their
opening
match
at
just
two
of
their
previous
11
Women’s
Euros
(D4
L5).
Hopes
of
a
third
such
victory
were
already
over
as
they
retreated
for
dressing-room
respite.
They
have
now
lost
11
of
their
past
16
games
at
the
Euros
(W4
D1).

It
might
have
been
a
different
story
if
Barbara
Bonansea
buried
an
early
chance,
but
she
was
denied
by
the
legs
of
France
goalkeeper
Pauline
Peyraud-Magnin,
and
a
rout
ensued.

Kadidiatou
Diani,
a
menace
on
the
right,
sent
over
a
low
centre
that
was
feebly
dealt
with
by
Italy,
allowing
Geyoro
a
ninth-minute
tap-in,
and
the
second
French
goal
was
also
about
threat
from
the
flanks,
with
Sakina
Karchaoui
racing
down
the
left
before
her
deflected
cross
was
palmed
into
the
path
of
a
grateful
Marie-Antoinette
Katoto
by
Italy
goalkeeper
Laura
Giuliani.

Twelve
minutes
in,
France
were
2-0
up
and
rampant.
Delphine
Cascarino
hit
a
delightful
third
from
the
edge
of
the
box,
Geyoro
rounded
Giuliani
for
a
fourth
and
added
number
five
in
the
45th
minute,
disrupting
Italian
possession
herself
before
taking
a
return
ball
from
Sandie
Toletti
and
smashing
home.

Unable
to
halt
Geyoro
by
fair
means,
Italy
elected
for
another
approach
after
the
break
as
captain
Sara
Gama
hacked
down
the
forward
with
a
messy
challenge
on
the
left.
Shown
a
red
card
initially,
it
was
reduced
to
yellow
after
a
VAR
check,
which
probably
saved
Italy
from
greater
humiliation.

They
got
a
goal
back
through
Martina
Piemonte’s
neat
header,
too,
France
becoming
briefly
ragged.
The
French
might
need
to
win
this
tournament,
or
at
least
reach
the
July
31
final
at
Wembley,
for
Diacre’s
big
decisions
to
be
justified,
so
here
was
a
just
a
glimpse
of
fragility.
A
fifth
successive
win
in
European
Championship
openers
was
never
in
doubt.

One
more
number
felt
significant
on
this
warm
Yorkshire
night.
The
crowd
of
8,541
drew
warm
applause
around
this
tidy
lower-league
ground,
and
rightly
so.
When
these
teams
met
in
the
group
stage
of
Euro
2005,
also
hosted
by
England,
only
957
turned
out
at
Preston’s
Deepdale
ground
to
witness
the
occasion.

The
women’s
game
is
changing,
and
perhaps
the
same
might
be
said
for
France.