French women beat South Korea, 3-0, in World Cup round of 16
France’s Laura Georges, left, kicks the ball away from South Korea’s Lee Geummin during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Round of 16 on Sunday. France blanked South Korea, 3-0.
Marie Laure Delie scored two goals to help France beat South Korea 3-0 on Sunday and advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s World Cup.
France will play Germany on Friday here at Olympic Stadium, where the French-speaking crowd serenaded Les Bleues with their national anthem, “La Marseillaise.” German coach Silvia Neid was in the stands, scouting her next opponent after her team beat Sweden 4-1 in Ottawa on Saturday.
Delie scored in the fourth minute and Elodie Thomis made it 2-0 in the eighth. Then France scored again in the 48th minute when Eugenie Le Sommer brought the ball to the end line and passed it back to Delie in the middle.
Delie received a standing ovation from the France fans in the crowd when she left in the 84th minute for a substitute.
The first half had a lengthy delay when South Korean goalkeeper Jungmi Kim needed medical attention after taking an elbow — from one of her own teammates — to her cheek while leaping for a ball that was lobbed into the box.
She remained in the game with her cheek bandaged, but she took another hit later in the half.
Delie has made a habit of scoring quickly.
Her header just 34 seconds into the group-stage finale against Mexico sparked a 5-0 rout that helped Les Bleues overcome — if not forget — their loss to Colombia that was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
French coach Philippe Bergeroo said he wanted his players to be present from the start, and they were. With Le Sommer making plays, they controlled most of the action and used crisp passing in front of the net for all three goals. After the second goal, the South Koreans huddled up in front of their net. The pep talk may have helped them avoid falling further behind for the rest of the half, but Delie struck again early in the second.
