France beat England 1-0 in rain-plagued group F match
Xinhua, June 10, 2015 Adjust font size:
France kept their unbeaten run against England on the international level as they won 1-0 on Tuesday in a Group F match of the 2015 Canada Womens' World Cup here.
Eugenie Le Sommer scored the only goal as she blasted a powerful 30-meter right-foot at the top of the penalty area on the 29th minute.
The game was not that close as the score shows as the French dominated most of the time, but did not create many chances due to the physical advantage of the English team and the bad weather.
"The condition of the game was difficult and we had to try to match England physically, but it's important to win the first game," Sommer talked about the constant rain and wind that severely affected the game.
Focusing on defence, England did good job by intersecting delicate passes of France, and only let go one goal when their opponents kept the ball in the front half almost all the time.
On the attacking end, England failed to produce a real threat, which was not enough for them to pull down the first win in over four decades.
According to FIFA, France never lost to England since 1974, including recent wins in the quarter-final in Germany 2011 and in the group stage in Euro 2013.
"We tried to find technical control of the game. It's an important win with no cards and no injuries," French head coach Philippe Bergeroo said.
Weather forecast said heavy rain is expected in the following game between Colombia and Mexico. Endi