La France will face the again Portugal in 2024 in Qatar after Italy for Euro 2024. Good news: the French will be able to enter the track with full confidence for this quarterfinal of World Championships Padel au Qatar.
During European Championships in Sardinia, the France had beaten twice the Portugal by 2 games to 1. The richness of the French squad, compared to the very large differences in level in the Portuguese ranks, constitutes a major asset.
La France : 981
- Alix Collombon (29)
- Léa Godallier (56)
- Carla Toully (94)
- Jessica Ginier (109)
- Charlotte Soubrié (151)
- Camille Sireix (151)
- Lucile Pothier (157)
- Fiona Ligi (234)
Portugal: 1812
- Sofia Araujo (10)
- Ana Caterina Nogueira (34)
- Patricia Ribeiro (70)
- Catarina santos (108)
- Catarina Vilela (132)
- Clarinha Santos (206)
- Claudia Gaspar (360)
- Katia Rodrigues (892)
Cependant, le Portugal remains dangerous. It has three players in its ranks from Top 100 worldwide, just like France, and especially Sofia Araujo, 10th player in the world. The problem for the Portuguese number 1 is that she systematically finds herself “put on the back burner” by her opponents, thus limiting her impact.
Another element to take into account in this World Cup is the group stages. For the France, facing three good European teams and winning each match relatively easily is perfect for confidence before attacking the main draw (9 matches won out of 9 played). Côté Portugal, With l'Argentina in the group (which we therefore do not count), as well as two small padel nations, the USA and Egypt, the results revealed problems of homogeneity within the Portuguese team. This was particularly evident between Fernandez et Walnut, who is no longer the formidable player she was at the time of World Padel Tour. Same for the pair Santos/Araujo, the victory was not so simple. Worse still, against the USA, Walnut was in trouble again, this time alongside Santos Dominguez.
It is therefore essential to stay focused on the objective, but it is certain that the captain of the French team, Robin Haziza, will be able to remind the players that the Portuguese remain a team capable of shaking the French ranks. See you tomorrow from noon for this women's quarter-finals.
Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.