Day: June 8, 2019

Women’s World Cupdate: Party in Paris

Welcome to your daily 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup update, or Women’s World Cupdate, where we recap the past day’s proceedings from France while previewing what is still to come. These features will run every morning throughout the duration of the tournament and feature highlights, major news, and much more from France.

Here’s What Happened: Friday, June 7th

Per tradition, the host nation played in the opening match and what a match is was for France. A sold-out Parc de Princes was rocking on a beautiful Friday evening in Paris as the home side began their World Cup tournament with a thrashing of South Korea.

France 4-0 South Korea

A dream start for the host nation and an absolute nightmare on the flipside. With the weight of a nation on their shoulders, playing in front of a sold-out crowd at one of the most recognizable venues in the country, France made a massive statement with a 4-0 victory in the opening match of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. If there were any nerves for France going into the game you wouldn’t have known as Eugenie Le Sommer scored in the 9th minute and France never looked back.

A brace by defender Wendie Renard off a pair of corner kicks pushed the lead to 3-0 at halftime and squashed any hopes of a South Korea comeback. Amandine Henry put the icing on the cake in the final minutes with an early nominee for goal of the tournament.

For South Korea, all they can do is lick their wounds and try to shake off the lopsided defeat before their next contest. It was ugly from the get go, but if they can respond with a result in their second game, they still have hope of advancing into the knockout stages.

Goals

  • Eugenie Le Sommer | FRA (9′)
  • Wendie Renard | FRA (35′, 45’+2′)
  • Amandine Henry | FRA (85′)

Highlights

Hollywood could not have scripted a better start for the French in their home tournament, but it’s only one game and the competition will only get tougher from here on out.

Goals of the Day

What a day for the French. They open the tournament on home soil with a win and send a message to the rest of the favorites in the process. To top it all off, they complete a clean sweep of our Goals of the Day rankings as well.

Amandine Henry (France)

The game was already well in the bag for France at this point, but Amandine Henry put an exclamation point on her side’s victory with this belter from outside the box. No chance for a keeper on a shot that good.

Eugenie Le Sommer (France)

Being the host nation, there is a lot of pressure on France to perform well on home soil. A bad start against South Korea could have ramped that pressure up big time, but Eugenie Le Sommer made sure that wasn’t the case by scoring the first goal of the tournament just nine minutes into the game.

Wendie Renard (France)

With all of France’s attacking options, no one could have expected a defender to be their leading goal scorer after the first match. Center back Wendie Renard scored twice in the first half on Friday evening in Paris, including this backbreaking goal just before the halftime whistle.

Group Update

Courtesy a 4-0 thrashing of South Korea in the opening match, host nation France sits atop Group A after the first day of play. Unless Norway or Nigeria answer with a four goal victory of their own, safe to say France will remain on top for a while longer.

Screen Shot 2019-06-07 at 7.43.39 PM.png

Here’s What’s Next: Saturday, June 8th

With the opening match out of the way, the 2019 Women’s World Cup will start hitting its stride with three games on the slate for Saturday. Former World Cup champions Germany and Norway being their tournaments against China and Nigeria respectively while South Africa makes its World Cup debut in an early afternoon tilt against Spain.

This is a jam packed day of soccer action with the games running from early morning until late afternoon here in the United States.

Germany v. China (Group B)

After France’s big opening statement, Germany will be the next pre-tournament favorite with the opportunity to send a message in their opening game. China will not be an easy out, but Germany have the talent where anything less than a victory will feel like an upset.

  • Time: 9:00 AM
  • Location: Roazhon Park (Rennes)
  • How to Watch: FS1

Spain v. South Africa (Group B)

Spain begins their Women’s World Cup adventure with the dark horse label, but a strong showing against South Africa could raise some eyebrows early. South Africa will be making history in this contest, playing their first Women’s World Cup game in history.

  • Time: 12:00 PM
  • Location: Stade Océane (Le Havre)
  • How to Watch: FOX

Norway v. Nigeria (Group A)

Norway is another country entering France with the dark horse label, but there seems to be more optimism around their chances in the tournament then a few others. Even without Ada Hegerberg at their disposal, Norway should still be a tough out for anyone. For Nigeria, any hopes of making it out of the group stage will rely on getting a result in this game.

  • Time: 3:00 PM
  • Location: Stade Auguste-Delaune (Reims)
  • How to Watch: FOX

You can watch all these games live on the channels listed or streaming online at FoxSports.com with a cable sign in.

If highlights are more your style, check out @FOXSoccer on Twitter where goals and game recaps are posted throughout the day.

All game times are listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Golden Boot Standings

The Golden Boot Award goes to the top goal scorer at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Screen Shot 2019-06-07 at 7.53.16 PM.png
via The Guardian

Pretty straightforward after what transpired in the opening match. France defender Wendie Renard tops the Golden Boot race following her brace against South Korea.

Keep up to date on everything Women’s World Cup right here on “The Bat Flip” where we will be posting our daily Women’s World Cupdate to recap what went on and preview what’s still to come in France.