Nice: Defender Wendie Renard’s own goal almost ruined France’s victory but Eugenie Le Sommer’s penalty eased the hosts emotions as Les Bleues claimed the second consecutive victory in Group A of the 2019 Women’s World Cup after narrowing past Norway 2-1.
The two teams had one meeting in World Cup before Wednesday’s match, Norway managed a 2-0 victory. In the first round, France crashed South Korea 4-0 while Norway also enjoyed a 3-0 victory over Nigeria. Comparing with the previous game, both sides had one change in the starting lineup, France replaced Delphine Cascarino with Valerie Gauvin while Norway dropped Lisa-Marie Utland in favor of Karina Saevik. It was dramatic that an assistant referee’s flag appeared to be malfunctioning minutes into the game, so the players had a short break in play as it was replaced. Norway pressed high after the game, trying to use their aggression and tempo to good effect. The away side had a smart corner kick in the 14th minute, yet Ingrid Syrstad Engen’s header was diverted by Amel Majri. France switched the situation after 20 minutes, Kadidiatou Diani hit Norway’s left side at lightening speed, but her poor passing let her teammates rarely get on the end of the ball. Norway’s Ingrid Moe Wold’s angled drive after a great teamwork was too weak to surprise goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi before the halftime. The hosts broke the deadlock just seconds into the second half, Majri swung in a cross from the left, Gauvin got in front of her marker to tap the ball into the net. The Norwegians pulled the leveler 8 minutes later with a stroke of luck, Wendie Renard who scored two goals on Friday night surprisingly tapped Isabell Herlovsen’s cross into her own net. France’s players Marion Torrent was tripped down by Engen in the box on the 70 minutes, the referee awarded the hosts a penalty. (PTI)
