No one yet knows where France coach Mickael Ferreira will be on the day of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ final but it is a good bet that on 5 July, 2014, he was sat in front of his television, closely watching the FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final between the Netherlands and Costa Rica.
On that day, Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal had the audacity to bring in backup Tim Krul for starting keeper Jasper Cillessen just seconds before what would be a thrilling shootout. This now famous decision paid big dividends, as Krul blocked two shots, handing victory to the Netherlands.
If the comparison is fitting, it is because the French coach tried the very same move in Wednesday’s match. As the Bleuettes headed to penalties against Spain following the first goalless draw recorded at Morocco 2025, the former Chateauroux player decided to bring in Nell Poye for Lauryne Chevray, despite the latter’s solid performance between the posts.
It proved to be the right call, as the Reims custodian stopped two penalties, playing a crucial role in France advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012, when they emerged as tournament victors.
Speaking to FIFA after the match, the French coach expressed great joy: “What we wanted to do here was to give all the girls a chance to contribute. Nell was the only one who hadn’t had a chance to do her bit. Was it planned? Maybe, but that’s all I’ll say.”
While the 43-year-old coach refused to share the reasons that led him to follow Van Gaal’s example, Nell, on cloud nine after the final whistle, revealed she only found out “ten minutes before the end of the match” that she was going on if the clash went to a shootout.
“Before the match, we were told that it might happen and then, the coach made the call. I warmed up, went on, and got the job done,” he said.
The young goalkeeper gave France the advantage, keeping a shot from Spanish captain Silvia Cristobal at bay, but at 2-2 Camille Marmillot failed to convert the following spot kick, immediately ratcheting up the pressure. Fortunately for the Bleuettes, Poye wasn’t done, and having stopped Celia Gomez from giving Spain the advantage, the Stade de Reims player let her team-mate Maissa Fathallah finish the job.
“I knew it was going to go to sudden death,” the goalkeeper added. “I knew that if I saved that penalty, all Maissa had to do was finish the job. I was confident before the shot and I knew I could stop it. I’ve done it so many times in training. And it wasn’t luck. I read everything, I watched everything. I studied her, and I knew where she was going to put the ball.”
Far from being frustrated at being subbed for her team-mate, Chevray was over the moon both with the turn of events and a performance in which she was named player of the match, despite her exit at the penalty stage. “I had total confidence in her,” she told FIFA. “We prepared for penalties and Nell makes a lot of saves. I knew she would do well in the shootout. I trusted her completely, and she proved me right.”
Beyond the satisfaction of knocking out one of the title favourites that had appeared in three consecutive finals, France also had the satisfaction of seeing their fortunes change, having tasted defeat on penalties in the semi-finals of the previous European U-17 Women’s Championship.
That loss came at the hands of the Netherlands, who will face in the quarter-finals this Sunday.
“That was a close, hard-fought match. It could have gone either way. I think Sunday will be much the same,” Ferreira predicts. After eliminating a Spanish side that hadn’t conceded a single goal in the tournament, his protégés will go into the quarter-final buoyed by their performance, whatever happens now.
“There is complete trust between us,” says Chevray. “We know we can all count on each other. With a mindset and drive like this, we can go all the way to the final and win this World Cup.”
