After a defeat against Sweden which had hurt their morale, our French women still managed to find themselves first in their group in these Worlds in Dubai. Yes, it is possible even if it seems crazy!

Unless you follow Padel Magazine and in particular the article by Jérôme Arnoux explaining the very small chances of France to obtain this precious pass to “maybe” reach the semi-finals…

A crazy scenario!

So we find ourselves in the Scenario 3: Sweden loses 2/1.

Yet Navarro and Girdo had won their first match, but behind Brazil won in the following 2 matches.

Consequence: the three teams of group D, namely Sweden, Brazil and therefore France find themselves with a defeat each, for an identical total of 9 games won.

To decide between them, it was necessary to calculate the number of sets won and subtract the number of sets lost (this could have gone as far as the games in the event of a tie in the count of sets).

Ligi martin global padel

France in pole position

France is first in the count of sets won / sets lost over the 4 matches:

  • France 13
  • Sweden 12
  • Brazil 11

And we can say a big thank you to Fiona Ligi and Mélissa Martin, who lost in three sets against the Swedes. A set that is more than precious!

Also precious, the victory in two sets of Léa Godallier and Lucile Pothier against the 3rd Swedish pair, when the meeting was already lost!

"It was a match that counted for nothing but we had said to play it hard and Léa and Lucile were exemplary."

Robin Haziza, coach of the France team
team france world victory 2022

For the little anecdote, the Swedes scored one set more than Brazil. The latter initially believed to be qualified because he is the winner of the direct confrontation between these two teams. But the FIP backpedaled Thursday morning after a complaint from the Swedes, who finally obtained 2nd place and went to the quarter-finals. Indeed, the head-to-head rule only applies if two teams have an identical balance of sets; but Sweden scored one set more than Brazil…

Instead of finding themselves eliminated or even second and facing Argentina in the quarter, France see themselves propelled first in their pool and will play tomorrow against Belgium.

The royal road to the semi-finals for our French women? We will stay calm because we first have to win against Belgium even if France will be arch-favorites. If the tricolors reach the semi-finals, we can obviously speak of a successful tournament.

“We had a very difficult group. I had warned everyone. Sweden got stronger. The Brazilians had come 5th at the previous Worlds.

We started badly by losing 2-1 against Sweden. But with a match lost in 3 sets, it obviously counts a lot in the end. Léa and Lucile went for a crucial match when we were trailing 2/0.

The next day, we play against Brazil. This time we won 2/1 in 2 sets, which will count even more at the end with a snatch victory for Fiona and Mélissa at the end of the night.

France finished with one set more than Sweden, which finished with one set more than Brazil.

Except that France being first, it is then the direct confrontations between the two equal nations that take precedence. In this case, it was Brazil who beat Sweden, Brazil finished 2nd. Sweden who beat us finished 3rd.”

Robin Haziza

[Updated Thursday November 03, 2022 09:45]

Finally, following a meeting of the sports department of the FIP, Sweden finished in second place in the group and will face Argentina on Thursday. Disappointment for the Brazilians who will finally play the classification matches.

More info here:

World Cup 2022 – Sweden finally qualified for the quarterfinals!

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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