2024 Olympic Women's Football Tournament hosts France scored a comfortable 2-1 victory over the Football Ferns in front of 21,946 fans at Lyon's Groupama Stadium on July 31, a result which flattered the beaten team, who concluded group play without a point to their name. After a scrappy opening stanza, "Les Bleus" lit the touchpaper in the sixteenth minute through Sandy Baltimore, who produced some lovely footwork to engineer some space in the penalty area from which she delivered a low cross into the danger zone. Grace Geyoro's low drive was blocked by the legs of Anna Leat, but the Football Ferns' custodian was at fault for France's opening goal six minutes later, an effort she should have kept out. Baltimore was again the source of New Zealand's troubles, giving Catherine Bott a torrid time - the French clearly had a game plan which involved targeting the Football Ferns' right flank - before finding the space from which to deliver a cross to the near post. Marie-Antoinette Katoto rose above Michaela Foster to head the ball downwards, and the diving figure of Leat was a tangle of arms and legs as she fumbled the sphere over the line to hand France the advantage. Herve Renard's charges looked to build on that advantage, Sakina Karchaoui's low cross zooming across the goalmouth before Selma Bacha sent Geyoro scooting through the inside left channel to the by-line, from where she fired in a low cross towards Katoto. She was thwarted by the Football Ferns' rearguard, in which Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott were working overtime in a bid to repel the frequent waves of French attacks, with Bacha battering a long-range effort narrowly past the post five minutes before half-time. Seconds later, a lofted Maelle Lakrar pass brought overlapping fullback Elisa De Almeida into play down the right. Her low cross picked out the unmarked figure of Delphine Cascarino, who lashed her shot beyond both Bowen and Leat. The ball was going wide, but was nearly turned into her own net by the retreating figure of Bott - the post spared her blushes and kept the Kiwis in the contest. And they were right back in it in the 42nd minute, via their first attack of note in the match. Bott threw the ball in to Kate Taylor, who, from twenty-five yards, and completely against the run of play, unleashed a dipping volley which deceived the diving figure of Pauline Peyraud-Magnin and beat her all ends up at her near post - 1-1, much to the dismay of the partisan crowd who came anticipating a convincing home victory. "Les Bleus" looked to restore their lead straight from the kick-off, Katoto pouncing on a Bowen error, only to steer her shot past the post under the challenge of Stott, the last act of note before the half-time whistle. The second spell began with France in the ascendancy, eager to please the home support as they looked to book their place in the quarter-finals at Paris 2024. And after Bacha fired a twenty-five yard free-kick over the bar, they regained the lead in the 49th minute. Katie Kitching was adjudged to have fouled Amandine Henry just inside the Football Ferns' half of the pitch by Brazilian referee Edina Alves Batista, who could just as easily have given the decision in New Zealand's favour. Football Ferns' interim coach Michael Mayne was not best pleased with the outcome of what he witnessed directly in front of him, so you can imagine what his reaction was like following the outcome of the resulting free-kick. Baltimore sent Karchaoui spearing to the by-line, from where she delivered a low cross which was turned home by Katoto - 2-1 France. Stung by conceding so early in the half, the Football Ferns looked to respond through Foster, whose angled ball in targeted the head of Taylor. Griedge Mbock Bathy beat her in the air, however, after which it was largely one-way traffic, with France pounding away in search of more goals. Lakrar, the likely long-term successor to legendary French central defender Wendie Renard, who was rested for this match, sparked a 54th minute raid with a pass to Cascarino, who scooted downfield

before linking with Karchaoui and Baltimore. Her cross to the near post found Cascarino arriving on cue, only to direct her header against the upright. Five minutes later, the woodwork denied Cascarino again, her twenty-yarder crashing off the post to safety after Henry pounced on an error in midfield and swept downfield in majestic fashion - "Les Bleus"' captain has long been a commanding midfield general, and was a dominant figure in that area of the park throughout this contest. From the resulting goal kick, Leat found herself under all sorts of pressure from Katoto, and scrambled the ball away, but only as far as Karchaoui, lurking on the edge of the penalty area. The goalkeeper partially redeemed herself with a fine blocking save, with Bowen completing the clearance. The incident served to once again highlight Leat's shortcomings where distribution and decision-making under pressure are concerned. As far as this writer's concerned, coach Mayne opted to start the wrong 'keeper in this tournament - Victoria Esson is the superior custodian in just about every aspect of goalkeeping you'd care to mention, critically so in the "clean sheets" department, with ten in the 22 games she's started, compared with Leat's record of just four in thirteen matches. France continued to pound away, substitute Kadidiatou Diani lashing a stinging 66th minute shot at Leat after getting the better of Mackenzie Barry, who entered the fray at the same time as Diani, three minutes previously. Seconds later, Bowen blocked a Karchaoui shot, with Katoto unable to capitalise on the rebound thanks to the presence of Meikayla Moore, whose display after coming off the bench for Stott was such that the transition between the two was seamless - the substitute performed splendidly. After Henry sent a twenty-five yard thunderbolt careering past Leat's right-hand post, a rare Football Ferns raid saw Grace Jale look to play in Indiah-Paige Riley off the right flank. The retreating figure of Bacha had other ideas, however, tidying up tidily with Riley on her shoulder. A mis-timed shot from Karchaoui gave Leat scant cause for concern, unlike a 78th minute cross from Cascarino after she got the better of Barry on the right. The delivery to the far post was headed inside by Mbock Bathy, but Bott managed to hook the ball to safety from beneath the shadows of her crossbar before a white-shirted opponent could swoop to seal France's victory. "Les Bleus" suffered a couple of scares in stoppage time, one of which saw them conclude the contest with ten players on the park, Karchaoui succumbing to a late hamstring injury after France had used all their substitutes. The other was another Football Ferns attack, with Jale applying some French flair in the form of a back-heeled pass which bisected the defence and picked out Bott, whose cross was headed out to the edge of the penalty area. Malia Steinmetz headed the ball back into the danger zone, where Annalie Longo was lurking, and the long-serving New Zealand international - this was her thirteenth FIFA Finals tournament in which she has played throughout her sterling career - came desperately close to snatching a late equaliser with a flicked effort at full stretch. Peyraud-Magnin proved equal to the challenge, however, confirming France's 2-1 win as the Football Ferns' Olympic dreams were dashed once more - at least until Los Angeles 2028, by which time this squad will have had quite a makeover, with resolution of the issue which prompted coach Jitka Klimkova to step aside for this tournament high on the agenda, along with the usual cluster of retirements - for a few of this squad, Paris 2024 will surely be their last hurrah. France:     Peyraud-Magnin; De Almeida, Lakrar, Mbock Bathy (Perisset, 83), Bacha (Toletti, 74); Geyoro (Dali, 63), Henry, Karchaoui; Cascarino (Le Sommer, 83), Katoto (Diani, 63), Baltimore Football Ferns:     Leat; Bott, Bowen, Stott (Moore, 54), Foster, (Barry, 63); Riley (Green, 74), Longo, Taylor, Kitching (Clegg, 54); Hand (Steinmetz, 74), Jale Referee:     Edina Alves Batista (Brazil)