Malard's acrobatic goal sends France to 2027 World Cup in Brazil

France’s women’s team secured direct qualification for the 2027 FIFA World Cup by beating Ireland 1-0 on Tuesday evening at Stade des Alpes in Grenoble. A single goal from Melvine Malard in the 40th minute was enough for Laurent Bonadei and his players to avoid the playoffs.

The Bleues had endured a period of doubt since their defeat to the Netherlands on April 14 (2-1). Against Ireland, they quickly imposed their dominance and found the breakthrough before half-time with a moment of class: Selma Bacha crossed from the left, Malard met the ball in the air with an acrobatic volley and beat the Irish goalkeeper. “What a goal, it’s true, I caught the ball in the air, I love doing that, so it worked out well for me!” said the Manchester United striker, who had already scored and provided an assist four days earlier against Poland (2-0).

France thus joins several nations already qualified for the Brazilian tournament, including Spain, the reigning world champions, Denmark and Germany. The competition will take place from June 24 to July 25, 2027 and will use the major stadiums from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, including the mythical Maracana in Rio de Janeiro (73,139 capacity).

For the Bleues, the objective will be to do better than in 2023, when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties by Australia (0-0, 7-6 on penalties) under Hervé Renard’s management. France has reached the semi-finals of a women’s World Cup only once in its history, in 2011 in Germany, before losing to the United States.