France ends Morocco’s run and advances to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup

Eugenie Le Sommer’s double led France to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup, earning a decisive 4-0 victory over Morocco on Tuesday. This result brought Morocco’s unprecedented journey in the international tournament to a close.

Le Sommer, who is France’s top scorer of all time, found the net in both halves, paving the way for her country to face co-host Australia in Brisbane this Saturday. The winner will move on to the semifinals.

France rapidly took control of the match with a trio of goals within just nine minutes. Kadidiatou Diani, Kenza Dali, and Le Sommer all contributed to a 3-0 lead within the first 23 minutes of the game at Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium.

Le Sommer then capped off the win with her second goal in the 70th minute, sealing Morocco’s fate in the competition.

Morocco had created history by becoming the first Arab nation to progress to the knockout phase. The Atlas Lions also marked their name as the first Arab team to win a match in the competition, defeating South Korea in the group stage. They continued to defy expectations by defeating group leader Colombia, advancing to the round of 16 and knocking out the No. 2-ranked Germany.

However, they found France, one of the tournament’s favored teams, to be an insurmountable challenge under coach Reynald Pedros.

France’s scoring was initiated by Diani in the 15th minute, heading in a cross from Sakina Karchaoui. This marked her fourth goal of the tournament, following a hat-trick against Panama. Dali extended the lead five minutes later, capitalizing on Diani’s assist to strike low into the corner past Moroccan keeper Khadija Er-Rmichi. The score went to 3-0 when Diani’s defensive play created a chance for Le Sommer to convert.

Le Sommer’s second goal came in the closing 20 minutes, heading in a cross from Vicki Becho.

Interestingly, France had previously lost a friendly to Australia before the tournament. The two teams are set to meet again after Australia moved into the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over Denmark. In the match against the Danes, star player Sam Kerr made her first appearance in this World Cup, returning from a calf injury to play in the second half.

For more information on the Women’s World Cup, including coverage by James Robson, visit https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson or follow the coverage at https://bigbignews.net/fifa-womens-world-cup.

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