For large portions of the 2022 Women’s European Championships, France looked like the best side in the tournament. It always felt like it would take a miraculous performance from an opposition side to knock them out, and eventually, Alexandra Popp stole the show to send Corinne Diacre’s side home in the semi-finals.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut in spite of their semi-final finish, France still showed enough promise in 2022 to make them one of the favourites heading into the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The one area of the field in which they’ve lost some of their key figureheads in recent years is in central midfield, which should make it all the more imperative for Grace Geyoro to play an important role once more. Here is what Geyoro brings to France, and why she’s one of the best midfielders on the planet.
BOX TO BOX MOBILITY
Embed from Getty ImagesGrace Geyoro is one of the best ‘Box to Box Midfielders’ on the planet, combining an uncatchable speed with that all-important awareness of space at both ends of the pitch.
When in full flow, Geyoro is extremely difficult to match for pace. When you combine that with precision close control and an awareness of when to push the ball ahead of herself with bigger touches (space ahead) and when to keep it tighter with little touches (under pressure), Geyoro is difficult to dispossess.
If opposition sides match France’s 4-3-3 and then push their central midfielders up in attacking phases, that only creates more room for someone like Geyoro to roam.
Completing over 60% of her dribbles in 2022-23, the 26-year-old’s close control mobility means that she’s often responsible for carrying the ball forward, breaking lines on the dribble, and leading counter attacking transitions.
But it also means that she’s responsible for some of those all-important late-arriving runs into the box, where she can have a better vantage point for exactly where to pick up her position. As an outside central midfielder, she’s not only willing to arrive toward the top of the box, but all the way to the back-post to get her head on a cross.
In the defensive end, Geyoro’s great at combining with her full-backs to form 2v1’s with wingers. She times her challenges expertly well whenever making the tackle, and often prefers to stay on her feet when lunging into a challenge rather than sliding to the ground.
Then when she makes a tackle, she’s often quick to think about how she can help her team immediately transition to the attacking phase.
All and all, France will want to have Geyoro on the ball whenever possible, and she’ll be critical toward leading their attacking success this summer.
touch of class
Embed from Getty ImagesIn addition to that dribbling power, Geyoro excels in keeping possession, an imperative component to the French game. Hervé Renard’s team will want to dominate possession, and Geyoro is someone that exudes confidence in playing under pressure.
Embed from Getty ImagesOf midfielders to make more than five appearances in the French division, only her teammate Oriane Jean Francois made more accurate passes (90.7% to 90.3%). Equally impressively, she completed almost 85% of her forward passes, making her an ideal candidate for France’s ability to break through lines not only on the dribble but through progressive passing.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt also meant that Geyoro spent some time at centre-back this season, where PSG could get her on the ball deeper on the field, and lead their ability to play out from the back against top opposition sides.
Alongside her physical presence, aerial ability and reading of the game, Geyoro could easily fill a hole at defensive midfield or centre-back for France if ever required.
Her profile from a statistical perspective as a centre-back compares to her teammate Wendie Renard, and progressive pass extraordinaire Alex Greenwood, who we profiled for England.
Embed from Getty ImagesSo if France are to achieve success this summer, Grace Geyoro will need to be on her game. Fortunately for the French, she’s exactly the type of player to rise to that pressure.
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