France Pace and Width Holds Key Against South Korea in Last-16 Test

On Sunday evening, France faces a challenging round-of-16 battle against South Korea in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. After two less-than-impressive performances in the group stage, Les Bleues were ruthless and dominant in their 5-0 demolition of Mexico, but they won’t have it all their own way against the Asian side.

The pressure was heaped on Philippe Bergeroo’s team going into the last group game in Ottawa. Anything but a win could have seen them faced with a match against the United States—or worse, eliminated altogether.

France’s coach—and former World Cup winner—made the changes, and they instantly paid off. Threatened with the pace of winger, Elodie Thomis, Mexico could do nothing to stop her setting up Paris Saint-Germain’s Marie Laure Delie for the opening goal after just 34 seconds.

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GOAL! @MarieLaureDelie scores in 34 seconds - the second-fastest goal in #FIFAWWC history #FIFAWWC #MEXFRA pic.twitter.com/7JHoaFHsqU

— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 17, 2015"

“The coach told us we’d have a lot of space on my wing so we wanted to exploit that,” Thomis told FIFA.com of her team’s tactics. “I really like it when I have a lot of room to make use of my pace.”

It was same threat of pace that forced England coach Mark Sampson to play a very conservative opening game in Moncton, doubling-down with two full-backs to mark Thomis. It nullified her threat and England only lost by the smallest of margins.

South Korea are not as physical a side as the English, and it is unlikely that Yoon Dukyeo will approach the game in a similar manner. Lee Eunmi has started every game at left-back so far, but in front of her, both Kang Yumi and Jeon Gaeul have not offered the most protection. Thomis could again be crucial.

Ranked 18th in FIFA’s World Rankings, seven places above a disappointing Mexico side, South Korea will provide France with a tougher test than the Central American side. They have proved to be a well-organised unit but have conceded more goals than they would have liked.

Against Brazil, they showed a few moments of quality and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty with the scores level. Spearheaded by the threat of Marta, As Canarinhas used their power advantage with midfielders Andressa and Formiga splitting open the defence with strong runs from deep.

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The second group game against Costa Rica typified the South Koreans performances so far. They showed great resiliency to come back from a goal down to the take the lead—just like they would do against Spain—but then lapses in concentration late in the game helped Karla Villalobos steal in for the 89th-minute equaliser.

In both of the last two group games, Korea started slowly and conceded first. France will see that as an opportunity to come out of the blocks quickly, just like they did against Mexico, and look to impose their will on the Korean side.

France’s tactics and philosophy work better when they are 1-0 up. Colombia showed that Les Bleues can tend to panic once they go a goal down.

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Korea’s best hope would be to try and take the game to their European opponents. It’s easier said than done, but they have players that are good enough to cause problems. Chelsea’s Ji Soyun has not enjoyed the best tournament so far, and her battle with Amandine Henry, discussed previously in this column, could be a very intriguing battle.

France needs the central midfielder to push and drive their team forward, but they will rely on her to limit the time and space Ji is allowed on the ball.

Bergeroo also has a huge decision to make in midfield. After dropping superstar Louisa Necib, they scored five against Mexico. It takes a brave coach to leave out one of the most talented players in the world, but with tensions high and the pressure on, it could be a huge mistake to rock a successful boat.

France, on their day, should have enough quality in key positions to see off the threat of South Korea. There is a quarter-final match against Germany on the horizon, but look too far ahead and their opponents are skilled and experienced enough to produce a stunning upset.