France weary of favorites Japan (Post Courier 29/11/16)

France supporters during the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup 

By FIDELIS SUKINA

The France U20 Womens team is weary of their Japanese opponents, as they are set for the second match in the Semifinals of the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup in Port Moresby.

The France bench runs into the field on the final whistle. 

France played a hard fought match against Germany to oust them in the quarter finals but France could have scored more goals than the Germans but were too in experienced.

France forwards Clara Mateo and Marie-Charlotte Leger had a few opportunities in front of the keeper but looked under pressure to score goals.

France Coach Gilles Eyquem after the post match conference admitted that the young women had been lacking in the goal scoring department of late, with the team only scoring five goals in four matches and conceding only two from their draw against Ghana.

Their counterparts Japan however have scored 14 goals in four games conceding only two goals one from Spain and one from Brazil.

This statistic has been a wary for Franc Coach Gilles Eyquem who said that they needed to score first and hopefully shut down the Japanese attack from scoring more goals.

“We have been having lack of success in front of the goal it has become a weakness a lot of the girls in the team have not had that much experience in scoring goals in international tournaments, it might not be a problem if we hold the Japanese to at least a goal, but if they keep scoring like they are currently it could be a problem,” Eyquem said

Eyquem said they have been working hard in training and having some time to relax as well visiting the National Museum in Port Moresby yesterday.

The France team had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the rich cultural history of the country, Coach Eyquem at the Museum said it was part of their schedule to relax but they were still focused at the task ahead.

“We have had three days to prepare for the game so this is part of the training schedule and that’s to rest, we will be fielding our strongest team, and we will look forward to score first if possible,” Eyquem said