World Soccer - UK (2022-07)

Belgium
Euros best:Groupstage(20 1 7)
Coach:IvesSerneels
Captain:TessaWullaert
Routetothe finals:Tine
DeCaignytoppedthequalifying
scoringchartswith 12 goalsto
narrowlysecuretop-spotover
SwitzerlandinGroupH.

France

Eurosbest:Quarter-final

(2009, 2013 , 2 01 7)

Coach:CorinneDiacre

Captain:WendieRenard

Routetothe finals:Sweptaside

GroupG with ease,postingdouble-

figure scoresagainst both North

Macedonia andKazakhstan.

Iceland

Eurosbest:Quarter-finals(2 013 )

Coach:ThorsteinnHalldorsson

Captain:SaraBjorkGunnarsdottir

Routetothe finals:A 2-0loss

inGothenburg againstSweden

costthemtop spotinGroupF,

thoughtheystill madeitthrough

asoneofthe best runners-up.

Italy

Euros best:Runners-up

(1 99 3, 19 97)

Coach:MilenaBertolini

Captain:SaraGama

Route to thefinals:Qualifiedas

thebestrunners-up,thankstotheir

goaldifferencebeingsignificantly

boosted by a 12 -0winv Israel.

OnedayFrancewilldeliveronthe
immensetalentofitswomen’snational
teamandwina tournament,andwhen
theydotheymightwell– like Spain’s
men– go on andwinseveral.Might this
bethe year, at a venuea shorthop
awayacrosstheEnglishChannel?
Formisgood.Theyheadedtowards
thefinals offthebackof a dozen
straightvictoriesincludingdefeats
ofNetherlandsandBrazilatthe
2022 Tournoi.Thatfollowed 2021
winsover England andGermany.
However, in recentyearstheFrench
havenotbeenthemost harmoniousof
squadsandissuesremain. Thefall-out
fromtheinfamousattackbymasked
menwith iron barsonKheira Hamraoui
lastNovembercontinuestoaffectParis
Saint-Germain,andthe clubdropped
themidfielderrecentlyafter an alleged
training-groundfracaswith club and
countryteam-mateSandyBaltimore.
After recallingherfor theTournoiin
February, headcoachCorinneDiacreleft
HamraouioutofhersquadforEuro
2022. Meanwhile,onlya handfulof
Lyon’s ChampionsLeaguewinnerswill
beinEnglandafterDiacre fell outwith
severalof them,includingformer
captainAmandineHenry,recordscorer
EugenieLeSommerandgoalkeeper
Sarah Bouhaddi, a triowith more than
400 capsbetweenthem.
Noneofthemmadethecut,although
WendieRenard, strippedofthecaptaincy
byDiacrein 2 01 7,hashadthe armband
restored(tohersurprise),andthepair
havebeenreconciledinpursuitofa
commongoal.
WithGriedgeMbockBathylikelyto
partnerRenardincentral defenceand
SelmaBachareplacinginjured,and
pregnant,team-mateAmelMajriat
left-back,thedefence seemslikely
tobeLyon-based.
Theattackwillbe builtaround
PSGwithMarie-AntoinetteKatoto

(controversiallyomittedfromthe

2019 World CupbyDiacre),Kadidiatou

DianiandBaltimorealllikelytofigure.

LesBleuesought to cruise through

thegroupevenifitisthe only onewith

allteamsinthe world’stop 2 0.Italy,

theirgameonthe up withSerieA

turningprofessionalnextseason,are

themainthreat.Theysurprisedmany

atthe 2 01 9 WorldCup andseveral

keyplayerswill have gainedvaluable

experienceandconfidencefromthe

runto theChampionsLeague

quarter-finalsbyJuventus.

WithaWorld

Cupnextyear

itisnotquitethe

lasthurrah for

30-somethings

BarbaraBonansea,

CristianaGirelliand

SaraGama,but

Italy’sprospects

inEnglandseem

better than in

AustraliaandNew

Zealandin 2023 ,

andthe trioof

veterans,sokey

totheAzzurre’s

revival,willbe

keentoatleast

reach theirfirst

semi-finalina quarter-century.

Belgiumweredebutants in 2 017 ,

whentheyperformedcreditablywith

a winoverNorway.They have proved

qualificationwas no flukeby doingit

again.Lowonstarpower butwell

organised,long-servingcoachIves

Serneelswill be aimingtobreaknew

groundbyreachingtheknockoutstage.

Ina largelydomestic-basedsquad

muchmay dependonskipperTessa

Wullaert, whohasexperienceof

EnglandfromhertimeatManchester

City, andveteranJanice Cayman(Lyon).

Icelandarein needofa goodnews

story afterthe men’s team,laudedfortheir

successat Euro 2 01 6,becameembroiled

ina sexabusescandalthatledtothe

resignationofthe nationalFAboard.

Thewomen’steamarecapableof

introducingsomepositivity. Thisistheir

fourthsuccessiveEurosandtheywill

hopetorepeattheirperformancein

2013 whentheymadethequarter-finals.

Themajority of theplayersarebased

abroad,mostnotably 31 -year-oldLyon

midfielder Sara BjorkGunnarsdottir,

whowill be appearinginherfourth

finalssince makingherdebutat 16.

Group D

Belgium,France,Iceland,Italy

Dangerous...

Italystriker

CristianaGirelli

Underpressure...

canFrancedeliver

ontheirpotential?

WorldSoccer 65

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