Thanks to their 1-1 draw with Switzerland, France has advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2017 UEFA Women’s EURO as the Group C runner up. Thorns FC midfielder Amandine Henry played the full 90 minutes in the game, helping Les Bleus to the next stage.
France ran into trouble early, when in the 17th minute Eve Perisset was sent off in an attempt to subdue Switzerland’s Ramona Bachmann. The last defender, Perisset pushed her opponent to the ground which warranted a red card. Soon after, Switzerland went up 1-0 when Ana-Maria Crnogorčević converted a free kick with her head in the 19th minute.
Determined to extend their tournament campaign in the winner-take-all match, France came out fighting in the second half. In the 76th minute, France’s Camille Abily capitalized on a free kick opportunity. Abily’s right-footed strike tipped off of goalkeeper Gaëlle Thalmann’s glove and settled under the crossbar.
With the draw, Les Blues will make their third straight quarter-final appearance, playing the winner of Group D, Sunday, July 30 in Deventer (TBD, ESPN3).
In other Group C action, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir and Iceland were defeated by Austria by a final of 3-0. Brynjarsdóttir went 90 minutes for Iceland in her final match of the tournament and will return home after Iceland was eliminated from EURO play.
