Lyon Offside’s series of special podcasts dedicated to women’s football continues with a new episode! The group stages have concluded, and 15 of the 16 OL players who started the tournament have advanced to the knockout rounds. France aren’t quite clicking, VAR has everyone on edge, and now is when the games really get good. Rabeeta (@OffsideBeet) and Arianna (@AScavs) break down the best of match days 2 and 3 and look ahead to the knockouts. Plus, with a new coach and 4 new players now officially announced, we have plenty of questions about the arrivals to OL Féminin.
Have a listen below! You’ll also find timestamps for specific topics if you’d like to jump around. If there are any topics you’d like us to cover, just tweet at any one of us, or you can send an email to LyonOffside@gmail.com.
Topics Covered:
- France vs. Nigeria (0:20)
- Not as easy as we may have expected
- Is France missing Katoto?
- Concerns for France in the midfield
- In defense of Sarah Bouhaddi
- VAR drama
- Too much set piece reliance?
- Best of the Rest of Group Stage Action (14:55)
- Lucy Bronze, dominant as usual
- Canada vs. Netherlands
- Best use of van de Sanden
- Knockout Previews (21:10)
- A return for Marozsan?
- All carbs all the time in Lyon
- Can Brazil surprise France?
- The path gets harder for the U.S.
- New OL Coach, Jean-Luc Vasseur (32:00)
- Is anyone excited?
- Unknown tactics
- Players Arrivals Announced (36:05)
- So many attackers
- Need for defensive reinforcements
- Goalkeeper prospects
- Midfield predictions
Cover image via Fifa.com
Lyon Offside 
One thing about CAF teams you guys must remember, they basically are active only two times, the literal cup of nations tournament which serves as the world cup qualifiers, caf does not separate the world cup qualifiers from the confederation cup tournament. And then a few matches before the world cup. SO most CAF teams before the world cup are in absent the basic number of games to know how they are. The same with the brasilian womens team.
And unlike the usa, or france, since every caf womens league is bluntly semi paid athletes they lack the club base needed to aid them. THus Nigeria, like any CAF team, is better in tournament by leaps and bounds.
I think Diacre is like Deschamps in that, as a coach she had issues to KAtoto like he had to deschamps.
By the time I read this, Gauvin is clearly the player in the center forward role, so your views on her before current events are unfair for me to speak on.
I agree, Le Sommer/Diani/Cascarino is a nice trident but the coach is correct, France need a 442 system. Like in the mens game, messi absent neymar makes barcelona to one sided, same as dani alves absent marcelo. Now, teams can still play or win but strong opposition will exploit imbalance.
I think Karchaoui is the only player I can see coming in and actually mirroring cascarino, and with both of them they will allow MAjri or Torrent to overlap. But, the coach has not implemented that idea.
And LE Sommer is not a number 10.
Like the mens team, the french womens team don’t have a natural creative midfielder , like a marozsan, but have athletic midfielders. Remember, when france won the world cup they had matuidi/kante/pogba , the french womens team are the same, the best equivalent to that is Le Sommer/Henry/Geyoro but Diacre wants a player to be that primary passer in midfield, and thiney has adjusted to that role for PAris FC, as she doesn’t have the athleticism to play higher in attack.
Do you know who started the majri is the best left back thing? is that about the brasil men.
haha! Bouhaddi is an under-sized keeper, that is her true problem. She worked on her timing. Iker cassilas is similar.
Great stat about bouhaddi not letting more than one goal in any game in four years.
She made the save of the tournament so far, in the match against Brasil. That was a well timed save.
The other issue with the goal keeper movement is the nature of penalty kicks. Penalty kickers try so many various tactics it is very disadvantaged for the keeper to need to move in the kickers favor.
Look at spain men, when they won the world cup, most of those games were 1-0 matches. teams are going to bunker and try to counter and like spain men when they won the world cup, france women don’t have that dominant number 9. so, they have the ability to possess but no spearpoint.
good point on the young canadian player.
Great strategic point on Van Sanden. Van Sanden is one of those players that runs into it immediately, so she tends to run herself empty quick. I don’t know her fitness regimen, but moving from OL to Ajax is the key. As she stays in OL it will improve her fitness.
THomis was not the most consistent high quality crosser, so Van Sanden is taking her mantle.
🙂 I could hear Rabeeta’s pain speaking on Kerr.
Norway proved they needed Ada while Australia proved they need more than Kerr.
I didn’t know that pasta story, did you find out who puts pasta in a baguette?:)
Brasil came in one of the age wise oldest teams. THat experience helped them, but their younger players are not sharp enough and Marta basically said that.
Arianna, make sure you share photos when you see them in paris.
Spain have no goals, a highly technical team absent athleticism needed to be dangerous. Someone shared a great article on the popularity of chess in spain and you can see that in the spanish game.
Spain women have to learn to gain the collective patience to possess above 95 percent.
To be fair, to the group usa was in, any time you increase teams you drag in teams that are not experienced in a tournament and in the womens game mean semi pro flag teams.
ITaly versus China is two defensive battling teams, Italy has a sharpness in attack, china do not have, but china have youth in their team who will be better the next world cup.
The NAdeshiko were finalists in the last two world cups. I think japan can get past holland. They have a nice blend of youth and experience and the NAdeshiko league helps their players comprehend each other and ferment that identity. TO quote kumagai, on that post you shared rabeeta, japanese players have to play as a team to win, they comprehend this very early.
Holland have serious danger up top but Japan have along time to think on holland which goes against holland for me.
But remember Rabeeta, Aulas can look at PSG mens who have the same role OL women have in terms of dominance. PSG men hired tomas tuchel who won nothing with dortmund, gave him the reigns and even after a season only winning one trophy gave him a contract extension.
The question is less who has to go as much as who will play out of position the best. It is a challenge. And I think players want to win trophies.
We shall see. At some point, OL will have a down phase, no team wins greatly forever.
Question do you know why Vasseur was fired at stade de reims in 2015? knowing a coaches hardest times can give clues to them.
A clue to administrative choices is for you guys to make a administrative transfer list, seeing people who leave behind the scenes.
With Real Madrid announcing they will have a womens division now, maybe AUlas is looking to send players to Real MAdrid?
Good show
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