SPOKANE, Wash. –
Behind solid goalkeeping by Audrey Dupupet and stout defense by its backline, France advanced to the 2022 Women’s Military World Cup Gold medal match with a 1-0 triumph over South Korea Wednesday afternoon.
French midfielder Rachel Corboz, who grew up in New Jersey and competed for Georgetown, scored the winning goal for France in the 90th minute, kicking into the right corner of the net.
Lina Thivillon started the set play by flashing from the left side and scooting the ball to Anissa Belkasmi who dropped a behind-the-back pass back to Thivillon. Thivillion then snuck past the South Korean backline and pinged the ball to Corboz for the game winner. The goal was the first in the tournament for Corboz, who has dual French-American citizenship.
Before Corboz’s score, France and South Korea battled to a draw with both sides narrowly missing on scoring chances. Two of the most skilled teams of the tournament, both squads struggled to find the net, although France (4-0) controlled the ball more than the South Korean squad.
In the 25th minute, France’s Sarah Palacin took a shot to the center of the goal that was stopped by South Korean keeper Jihee Ha. Kristy Gavory had her right-footed attempted stopped by Ha.
In the 51st, South Korea’s Jeongmin Lee had her breakaway shut down by Dupupet.
Gavory narrowly missed a potential goal in the 57th minute when she hit the top crossbar.
Dupupet’s most critical saves came in the second half. In the 63rd minute, she missed a shot attempt off a free kick by South Korea, then jumped back to grab the loose ball.
The French goalkeeper then faded to her left to stop a goal attempt by South Korean midfielder Yena Park in the 70th minute.
8South Korea (3-1) will face the United States (3-1) in the bronze medal match, while France will take on Cameroon, (4-0), the highest scoring team in the field, for the Military World Cup Championship.