France’s coach, Herve Renard, told his team not to take Morocco easily when they play them in the last 16 on Tuesday. Morocco has been one of the biggest surprises of the Women’s World Cup.
France’s goal is to win a big women’s title for the first time. In their first World Cup, Morocco beat the odds and beat Germany to make it to the round of 16.
In the FIFA rankings, there are 67 places between the two countries. They are playing each other in Adelaide for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Renard is also excited about the game because he was in charge of the Moroccan men’s team for three years and led them to the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Renard told reporters the day before the game, “I have wonderful memories of my time in Morocco, but let’s keep our attention on the football.”
“We want to win even when we play with our friends, and we are here to win and move on to the next round.
“It’s important that we respect our opponents and that this is a match in the last 16 of the World Cup.
“Morocco are here for a reason. This game is just as good as the one we played against Brazil.”
France won their group by beating Brazil 2-1 and beating Panama after being tied with Jamaica in their first game.
Morocco, on the other hand, came back after Germany beat them 6-0 to beat South Korea and Colombia and finish second in Group H, behind the South Americans.
“We respect them, but we are focused on ourselves,” Renard said.
“This France team has a lot of experience. I’m here to help them as much as I can, but I think they’d be fine without me.”
Renard will play against Reynald Pedros, a fellow Frenchman who used to play for France and is now in charge of Morocco. Pedros played for France as a player and has been in charge of Morocco since 2020.
Renard said, “There will only be one French coach left in the quarter-finals.” “I hope that it will be me.”