Corinne Diacre says France needs to be ‘more efficient’ after close win over Belgium

France coach Corinne Diacre is happy to see his side progress to the Euro 2022 quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Belgium at New York Stadium but thinks the ‘effectiveness’ they showed against Italy is lacking.

France took the lead very early when Sakina Karchaoui passed the ball in the post for Kadidiatou Diani to score from close range.

Belgium equalized in the 36th minute in a dominant position as Janice Cayman conceded a home goal past attacking Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, but France restored their rightful place five minutes later when Griedge Mbock Bathy headed the ball. point from close range.

France were awarded a late penalty after VAR deemed Amber Tysiak to have dealt in the box and received a second yellow card.

Captain Wendie Renard was unable to capitalize on the success as she missed both the penalty spot and the follow-up, however, France were not denied a place in the quarter-finals.

After the game, Diacre said in a press conference: “There were a lot of chances for us to score a third but today I think the effectiveness against Italy was lacking.

“We know it’s not every day we score five goals in the first half and we couldn’t score five tonight but we got through and that’s all that matters.

“The effect is a bit different from the match against Italy but we scored more goals than Belgium, which means we won this game and are top of the table.”

France have made it through to the round of eight with one game left, and Diacre wants her team to enjoy the moment before those upcoming games.

“We’re going to rest and enjoy the win and make the most of the fun moments when they come,” she said.

“It’s very rare to qualify after two games, so I went back to base camp, rested and checked for injury tomorrow and then prepared for Iceland.”

Belgium are yet to win a single match throughout the tournament and will need a win over Italy in their final group stage match to progress.

Belgium manager Ives Serneels said: “Everybody gave their best today and it’s a pity the game didn’t reflect that.

“I don’t think we will concede after six minutes. I won’t be negative because my team made me proud, but we showed exactly what we made tonight and how beautiful the women’s game was.

“We also know France is very good and has the best European players, we are talking about the third best team in the world, so I don’t think we should be negative.

“It won’t be a walk in the park with Italy, I’ve worked with this team for a long time and I think they won tonight.”