The French fans sensed an upset was on the cards and the chants of “Allez Les Bleus” now reververbated louder than ever around the ground.īut, even with its back up against the wall, Germany is a relentless force to be reckoned with at the Euros. Bacha was again denied from a narrow angle, this time by the legs of goalkeeper Frohms. The chances were now coming thick and fast for France as a frustrated German side began to make mistakes. Just after the hour mark, substitute Selma Bacha had a wonderful chance to put her side ahead, controlling the ball and swiveling smartly in the box, but she was denied by a brilliant block from defender Kathrin-Julia Hendrich.įrom the resulting corner, the towering Wendy Renard got up at the far post but her header was smothered away on the line. That certainly helped France feel like it belonged on this stage and the team emerged from the half-time break with a new-found intensity. It was certainly a goal this game needed and it was one that sparked the contest to life.Īfter waiting 40 minutes for the first goal to come, the 27,445 inside Stadium MK only had to wait five minutes for the second.ĭiani thought she had scored the goal that her early efforts merited, but replays showed her long-range effort hit the post and bounced into the goal off German goalkeeper Frohms, who was credited with an unfortunate own goal.
Svenja Huth’s cross into the box was met by Popp, whose instinctive dash into the six-yard box allowed her to beat French defender Eve Perisset to the ball and stab it into the roof of the net. The sizable group of French fans in the corner to the right of Peyraud-Magnin’s goal had the perfect view of their goalkeeper’s heroics and cheered with approval, before leading a large portion of the stadium in chants of “Allez Les Bleus.”īut with the game meandering towards half-time, a moment of quality five minutes before the whistle broke the deadlock seemingly from nothing. It was a testament to the quality of the save that a number of German fans inside the stadium had already begun to rise out of their seats in celebration, only to be left disappointed by Peyraud-Magnin’s fingertips. However, it was Germany that mustered the first meaningful effort of the game as Alexandra Popp’s wicked free-kick was brilliantly tipped around the post by goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin.
Wingers Delphine Cascarino and Kadidiatou Diani in particular were posing a threat to Germany’s so far unbeatable back line.