France vs. Morocco highlights: France cruises to 4-0 win over Morocco
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup continued Tuesday with France cruising to a 4-0 win over Morocco in the round of 16 at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide, Australia.
France scored its first three goals early in the first half. Following her hat trick in the group stage finale, forward Kadidiatou Diani opened the scoring by netting a goal in the 15th minute. Kenza Dali added the second goal of the match in the 20th minute, before Eugénie Le Sommer scored in the 23rd minute.
Le Sommer added a second goal in the second half to seal the win for France and end Morocco's miracle run to the knockout round.
Up next for France is host nation Australia. The Matildas won their round of 16 match over Denmark with star Sam Kerr returning to action. The quarterfinal match between France and Australia will take place at 3 a.m. on Saturday (FOX and the FOX Sports app).
Here are the highlights!
France vs. Morocco Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Round of 16
77': Diani so close to scoring another
Diani looked to score her second goal of the match and fifth goal over the last two games when the ball went her way on a cross following a set piece. But her shot from just a few yards in front of the net sailed, keeping the game at 4-0.
70': Le Sommer gets another one
After a quiet start to the second half, Le Sommer added a fourth goal for her team. She was waiting at the back post for Vicki Bècho's cross, getting her head on it for her second score of the night.
France's Eugenie Le Sommer scores goal vs. Morocco in 70'
67': Goalkeeper takes it
Pauline Peyraud-Magnin didn't have to be active for much of the first 70 minutes of Tuesday's match. But she stepped up when she needed to, grabbing the ball on a corner kick to keep Morocco off the board.
49': Morocco aggressive to open the second half
After a rough first half, Morocco sensed it had to play desperate to open up the second half.
A few minutes later, Ibtissam Jraidi nearly had an opportunity for Morocco. She got around the goalkeeper, but wasn't able to control the ball.
Halftime: France dominates the first 45
France didn't let up in the first half, scoring three goals in less than 10 minutes as it looks to set up a quarterfinal matchup against Australia.
41': France looking for more
The French wanted to add to their lead late in the first half. But after a cross was denied, Sandie Toletti's rebound opportunity went just wide of the net.
23': France scores for a third time in less than 10 minutes
If France is going to go on a scoring outburst, Eugénie Le Sommer is sure to be involved. The country's all-time leading international scorer got in on the action when Morocco struggled to clear the ball out from its own box, allowing Le Sommer to get a boot on it and score.
France's Eugenie Le Sommer scores goal vs. Morocco in 24'
20': France adds a second goal
Kadidiatou Diani drew attention as she made her way into the attacking zone following her opening goal. That allowed Kenza Dali to get open at the top of the box and fire a shot into the net to give France a 2-0 lead.
France's Kenza Dali scores goal vs. Morocco in 20'
15': France goes up 1-0
After scoring a hat trick in a win against Panama, Kadidiatou Diani found the net again early on in Tuesday's match. She placed herself just a few yards in front of the net on Sakina Karchaoui's cross, scoring an easy goal to give the French a 1-0 lead.
France's Kadidiatou Diani scores goal vs. Morocco in 15'
7': Diani ambitious early on
The French star was looking to see if she could repeat her magic in the early minutes of Tuesday's match. But Khadija Er-Rmichi was right there to make the stop for Morocco.
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Setting the stage
The "World Cup NOW" crew previewed the match live on social media ahead of kickoff.
Check out the full Women's World Cup schedule and how to watch each match live here. Find the latest scores here.
