Olivier Paquereau

The defeat against Sweden (4-0) on Saturday had already hurt the France team. What then of that of the next day against the United States, in Tampere (Finland), for the sixth and penultimate outing of the Blues in the group stage of the World Cup. The players coached by Philippe Bozon have been corrected (9-0). We have to go back to the 2008 World Cup to find such a wide setback for France (against Sweden, 9-0 as well).

The Habs were still deprived of Alexandre Texier (sick) and Nicolas Ritz (injured). On the other hand, Sacha Treille, the captain, made his return after suffering an injury (contusion in the upper body). But, in the first period, the France team lost Dylan Fabre, their young striker, who took the puck in the face and had to have stitches.

From the first minutes, the Blues were dominated, as was the case the day before against the Swedes. After 20 minutes, they were down 3-0 and the Americans had scored 12 shots against four for the French (8-7 for the Bozon players at the same time the day before). Sebastien Ylönen, established in front of the tricolor cage, was replaced by Quentin Papillon at the start of the second period.

Five goals conceded in the last period

As much as Papillon had saved his goal on Saturday against Sweden, he was powerless against the waves of American attacks. Because unlike the Scandinavians, the United States team – one of the most attractive in the first round – did not slow down their pace in the game. The third and final period was painful with five goals conceded. Cutter Gauthier, who plays at Boston College (NCAA), scored a hat-trick and Drew O’Connor (Pittsburgh Penguins), a double. In total, the USA shot 44 times. The Blues, 13 times.

The France team was officially maintained in the elite since Saturday. She had a faint mathematical hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals. But he flew away on Sunday, Germany having also won against Hungary (7-2). To end their World Cup, the French players will face the Germans on Tuesday (11:20 a.m.).