EURO 2022: Analyzing the Attacking Methods France Used to Destroy Italy
Counter-movements, big switches, and maverick off-ball movement.
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Sandy Baltimore, Melvine Malard, Selma Bacha, Griedge Mbock Bathy: that’s not a star-studded lists of transfer targets — that was a third of France’s bench in their EURO 2022 opener vs. Italy. Teams with those kinds of riches to spare are normally regarded as tournament favorites, but Les Bleues have been almost completely overlooked.
That fact seems even more shocking when you glance at who started:
However, like with all things in women’s football, the situation is far more complicated underneath the surface. France have been surrounded by drama and friction for what feels like forever. The Wikipedia page on manager Corinne Diacre contains a handful of sentences on her playing and coaching career before coming to an article-length section termed: “Controversies.” 1 I won’t waste time summarizing everything (you can just click on the hyperlink if you’re that interested), but the most recent headline involved world-class midfielder Amandine Henry being left out of the EUROs squad, which was undoubtedly related to the interview she gave in 2019, when she said:
I saw girls crying in their room, I personally happened to cry in my room, because I wanted to experience this World Cup, but it was total chaos.
Nice.
Anyway, France made everyone forget about all of that for close to ninety minutes, absolutely stomping a respectable Italy team 5-0 in the first half. Their success was driven by exciting combinations on the wings, high-tempo attacking, and lots of great off-ball movement.
Let’s analyze it all.
Counter-Movements to Unleash Karchaoui
Balanced spatial occupation is an absolute fundamental for good football movement. Players need to be located where teammates can access them, should avoid crowding out others, and must threaten and occupy defenses in a manner that creates structural advantages for the attacking side. An easy way to do this is to have closely-situated personnel filling in the spaces that others vacate.
For example, in the first part of the below GIF, left back Sakina Karchaoui bombs forward as Delphine Cascarino drops. This gives Wendie Renard an option in behind instead of two redundant ones in the same area around the halfway line. At its most basic, these “counter-movements” keep multiple passing outlets alive even as the structure around them changes.
At its best, counter-movements pull defenders out position and open up spaces — that’s what we see in the second part of the GIF:
Cascarino drags the fullback with her, clearing a runway for Karchaoui to take off from, eventually resulting in a goal.
Karchaoui is attack-minded and incredibly quick to both see and exploit any room that opens up down the left flank. I love this next sequence for how she seamlessly transitions into a different idea once the first one breaks down.
Again, the exchange of positions is key: Sandie Toletti dropping tugs the fullback forward just a tad, enabling Karchaoui to go 1v1 with the center-back.
These movements will likely be a staple of France’s play in the games to come, and opponents are going to need to figure out how to deal with them ahead of time. Simple player-to-player marking systems or passive zonal shapes will get shredded.
Big Switches to Diani
As evidenced by the prior tape, France have no qualms about going direct, which makes perfect sense when they have the wide options that they do, such as Kadidiatou Diani. Comfortable staying wide and stretching lines, Diani is a premier take-on artist that possesses a pillow-like touch.
Both Renard and Tounkara are confident distributors who don’t hesitate to pull the trigger from deep, while the midfielders ahead of them boast similar range as well.
The Canny Movement of Grace Geyoro
When France want to get a a bit craftier, they turn to Grace Geyoro. The PSG playmaker constantly shows to the ball in aggressive positions between the lines, acting as a conduit for progression into the forwards.
In this one, she shuttles possession into Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who is immediately blessed with a run in behind from box-to-box phenom Toletti.
That very ability to caress, protect, and pass the rock often drives midfielders into a mindset that constantly sees them attracted to the ball. Despite that common tendency, Geyoro is quite balanced in the way she moves.
I wonder how many CM’s in the world would check back and ask for Cascarino to pass them the ball at the 37:52 mark:
Instead, Geyoro understands that, with Cascarino deep and Karchaoui wide, there is no one to threaten off-the-shoulder, prompting her to make the run. As a result, Geyoro removes a defender from Cascarino’s path and watches as her club rival scores an early contender for goal of the tournament.
In the 40th minute, Geyoro put it all together; she made herself available to Ève Périsset and then instantly flowed into a run.
This is mildly reminiscent of the Karchaoui play we saw earlier, where the failure of the initial solution is resolved by quick recognition and a relentless off-ball motor.
These are the types of habits that make an offense truly scary. By having players that constantly move and search for the new space, France thoroughly tests defenses’ reactions and solidity after their initial structure is probed, thereby warding off the static lethargy that can plague ball-dominant teams when they run into their first obstacle.
Cascarino’s Freelance Offense
Out of all the things we’ve seen so far, the following clips of Cascarino perhaps best exemplify the fluidity of France’s attack.
Roaming in all the way from the left, Cascarino opportunistically fills the channel while Diani splits wide to receive the ball. As the latter turns, she finds herself in an unexpected amount of real estate and pulls the trigger. The shot is blocked, but, for the briefest of moments, Diani has a window to shoot thanks to Cascarino’s overload, which pulls a center-back wide.
Cascarino is already on the right in the next piece of film and takes advantage of a transition situation to barrel towards goal.
Her off-ball activity and free-wheeling spirit allows her to slip away from a confused, reorganizing defense and generate a chance.
These types of gallivanting actions risk destabilizing the flow of progression in the wrong environment. However, vs. Italy, it is clear that Cascarino had both the wherewithal to pick her moments tactically and the chemistry to turn unconventional movements into highly-beneficial gambles.
If France continue being this comfortable and cohesive when freelancing their offense, the rest of Europe better watch out.
At time of writing, that section consists of 1282 words — 802 more than what preceded it (including the introduction). Fittingly, the reader only has to plow through an additional 27 words until they reach a brief set of bullet points, marking the end of their journey.
Great stuff. I watched the game and saw France running rampant, thanks for showing me the patterns.