FIFA Women's World Cup Opposition Spotlight: France

Australia takes on France in their Quarter-Finals clash on Saturday, 12 August (5:00 pm AEST), with both teams fighting for a place in the semi-finals. 

We take a closer look and put Les Bleues under the microscope ahead of our clash.

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Current FIFA Ranking: 5

FIFA Women's World Cup Appearances: 5 (2003 USA, 2011 Germany, 2015 Canada, 2019 France, 2023 Australia & New Zealand) 

FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Qualification Record

Played: 10
Wins: 10
Draws: 0
Losses: 0
Goals scored: 54
Goals conceded: 4

France cruised through qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup, making their fourth consecutive World Cup. Les Bleues recorded 10 wins from 10 in the Group I of qualification. 

The side's top goalscorer in qualification was Marie-Antoinette Katoto with 10 goals to her name, however, the forward will not feature at the tournament after suffering an ACL injury during the EURO's in July last year.

Key players

France's striker, Kadidiatou Diani, scored a hat trick against Panama and leads the Les Blues' goalscoring race with four goals.

Diani, who recently signed with Carpenter’s Lyon, will be looking to help Hervé Renard claim his first major trophy with the side since taking charge in March 2023.

France's captain Wendie Renard scored the matchwinner for France in their 2-1 victory over Brazil, helping her side top their Group. 

Wendie Renard of France and Khadija Shaw of Jamaica lead their teams to the pitch before the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group F match between France and Jamaica at Sydney Football Stadium on July 23, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Maddie Meyer - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)


Renard played the full 90 minutes in France's last outing before the World Cup when they faced Australia at Marvel Stadium. 

Eugénie Le Sommer leads the team with the most senior appearances for her country, with 182 appearances for her country. 

Le Sommer has scored three goals this tournament, the opener against Brazil at Brisbane Stadium as well as a brace against Morroco in their Round of 16 clash to book a spot in the final eight. 

Kadidiatou Diani
Wendie Renard
Le Sommer

Head Coach

Hervé Renard has been head coach of the France women's national team since March 2023, taking over the role leading into the FIFA Women's World Cup after the dismissal of Corinne Diacre. 

Renard  will have the unique opportunity to coach in two World Cups for two different countries in the space of a year, after leading Saudi Arabia to a memorable victory over Argentina in their opening game of the Qatar World Cup. 

Previous Meeting

Australia and Australia's last meeting was in July 2023, the send-off match for the CommBank Matildas at Marvel Stadium ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Mary Fowler came off the bench in the game to score the matchwinner, with the game in front of 50,629 fans ending 1-0. 


Recent Form

France recorded two victories in their Group F games and a draw, kicking off their tournament with a 0-0 stalemate against Jamaica. The side then travelled from Sydney to Brisbane in search of their first win, sealing a late 2-1 win over Brazil.

A come-from-behind victory over Panama saw the side qualify first out of their group, with a 6-3 win at Sydney Football Stadium.

The side then took on tournament debutants Morocco in their Round of 16 clash, putting away three goals in quick succession to take a 3-0 lead going into the break. 

Le Sommer rounded out the scoring in the second half to see the side book their spot in the quarter-finals. 

FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ - Quarter-finals

Australia v France
Date: Saturday, 12 August 2023
Venue: Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 5:00 pm (AEST)
Broadcast: Optus Sport and Channel 7  
How to Watch