TOPS
Delphine Cascarino, the poorly rewarded festival
Like a particularly successful Euro so far, the Lyon wisp has had a real festival, making the Dutch dizzy.
Simply, Delphine Cascarino will have missed a goal to achieve the perfect match.
This could have happened in the 27th minute when she unleashed a superb volley but the ball crashed into the base of the post of an opposing goalkeeper for once beaten.
Which was not the case at the end of stoppage time, when she repelled a good attempt from the French winger, returned to her favorite right side with the exit of Malard and the refocusing of Diani.
The Lyonnaise was undoubtedly the best Blue in this quarter.
The wall Stefanie Van der Gragt
Saving a ball on his line is already rare for a defender.
But then two, it touches the exceptional.
Yet this is the performance that Stefanie van der Gragt accomplished this Saturday.
All in five minutes flat.
First in the 36th minute, on a five-meter attempt from Melvine Malard that the Lyonnaise sent straight at her.
As always in this case, it is difficult to know whether to attribute the merit to the well placed defender, or the fault to the attacker who puts her exactly where it should not be.
Still, in the 41st, van der Gragt took a liking to playing luxury goalkeepers on an attempt by Grace Geyoro which she repelled almost miraculously.
Daphne van Domselaar, the (almost) heroine of the Netherlands
To say that she was only to play Sari van Veenendaal's understudy on this Euro.
To learn, at only 22 years old.
But ultimately an injury to PSV Eindhoven goalkeeper and Daphne van Domselaar was thrust into full light.
What she perfectly assumed, especially in this quarter-final during which she multiplied the decisive stops.
In particular in stoppage time in regulation time against Delphine Cascarino, then on a header from Wendie Renard that she managed to deflect with her fingertips.
Finally, it took a penalty from Eve Perisset, which she was so close to diverting, to bring her down on one knee.
At the end of a match with… 10 saves.
Excuse a bit...
FLOPS
The lack of realism of the Blues
Certainly, the Dutch goalkeeper had a great game.
Admittedly, the post was recalcitrant on a shot from Cascarino.
Admittedly, the resistance of the Netherlands will sometimes have been miraculous.
But this is also due to the sometimes terrifying lack of realism of the daughters of Corinne Deacon.
It took 32 shots (!) for Les Bleues to score an unfortunate little goal.
Reassuring and promising against Iceland, Melvine Malard sank into the costume of Marie-Antoinette Katoto this Saturday.
And the top French scorer on this Euro, Grace Geyoro, symbolized this lack of opportunism with a head at close range next to the 87th when she had an empty goal in front of her.
The ghost of Vivianne Miedema
The image is cruel for one of the best players in the world, almost unable to move in the second half of extra time, perhaps due to cramps.
Or the consequences of the Covid-19 which had deprived her of the two previous matches of the Netherlands.
Still, Vivianne Miedema, despite all her talent, will have gone through this quarter-final like a lost soul, unable to get the slightest opportunity and lacking a bit of everything, speed, percussion, technical accuracy .
A catastrophic performance, like that of the Dutch as a whole, who will have existed for just a quarter of an hour when the second period resumes.
But with only one shot on target in 120 minutes, it's hard to hope to win.