Sam Kerr could be good, however French star Eugenie Le Sommer is healthier.
That’s the assumption of Les Bleues coach Herve Renard, who had a transparent warning for the Matildas forward of Saturday’s FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final showdown at Suncorp Stadium.
“There’s no-one like her in the (penalty) box,” Renard stated of 34-year-old attacker Sommer.
“I have seen a few male players that were incredible in the box, but she has incredible quality.
“She’s like a surgeon in the box … I wouldn’t change my strikers for the ones from the other team.”
Le Sommer, a teammate of Matildas right-back Ellie Carpenter at French membership Lyon, has already scored three objectives within the event, together with a brace in France’s 4-0 round-of-16 thrashing of Morocco.
Matildas captain Kerr has performed lower than 20 minutes throughout the event due to a calf harm,
Regardless of how a lot game-time Kerr is given on Saturday night time, Renard predicted the Matildas fashion of play wouldn’t change.
“Of course the characteristics of the strikers will be different, but they like to wait for their opponent, they like the transition to be fast and get behind the defence, and they have some very good players to use this system,” he stated.
“We are aware about everything, we know they are a very good team with fantastic support, but I have full confidence in my squad.
“I am with one of the best football teams in the world, so I just want them to have more confidence in themselves … respect all their opponents, but don’t fear anybody because they have the quality to have a fantastic tournament.
“I’m sure now they realise how well they can do.”
Ranked fifth on the planet, France is determined to a minimum of go one step additional than on the 2019 World Cup, when as hosts, Les Bleues had been knocked out within the quarter-finals by eventual champions USA.
“Our goal is to reach the last four in this tournament, so … we only have one option (on Saturday),” Renard stated.
He stated his workforce – overwhelmed 1-0 by the Matildas in a pre-tournament pleasant in Melbourne – would embrace the duty of taking part in towards the World Cup co-hosts.
“We are not only playing against one team, we are playing against one nation,” he stated.
“It’s also why we are very motivated for this game, because we love it.
“This is a high level of football, and we prefer to play this kind of game rather than a friendly game somewhere with 100 people. That is not football.”
Le Sommer stated: “We know what we want and it will be important to show this (against the Matildas).
“We want to leave our mark on the history of women’s football. We have ambitions and we want to bring something back to our own country.”
Source: www.news.com.au
