France turn heads with wheel of fortune

One scene in particular has caught the eye during France’s opening games at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026™. A corner is awarded and a small group of French players gather before launching into a frantic circular movement, making life as difficult as possible for their markers. Then, as the corner-taker begins her run-up, the players scatter in perfect synchronisation, making a series of runs and throwing the defence into confusion.

Fun to watch, the routine has quickly become a social-media hit, with numerous accounts sharing it and praising both its originality and its effectiveness. Because while the move may look entertaining, it has also proved devastatingly effective: it has helped the Bleuettes score three times, twice in their 3-2 win over Ecuador and again in their recent 4-0 victory against Ghana.

"We work a lot on set pieces and we spend a lot of time thinking about them. Our assistant coach Cyrille Clavel puts a lot of work into them," France forward Justine Rouquet told FIFA. "I think he's really made for it. He has that desire to make things work."

Rouquet herself benefited from the famous routine against Ghana, producing a superb volley to find the net. "Not everything is necessarily worked out in advance, but we know what we have to do and we put it into practice."

Free-kicks and corners have accounted for three of France's eight goals in the group stage, while penalties have also proved reliable. The Tricolores were awarded two and converted both, with Rouquet scoring against Ecuador and Ornella Graziani finding the net against Ghana. In total, five of France's eight goals have come from set pieces.

"Five goals from set pieces is a lot, that's true," Graziani said. "But at the 2025 UEFA Women’s U-19 EURO, that was already our weapon, and it's the same this year. It's working for us at the moment, and I hope we'll keep scoring plenty of goals from set pieces, but also score plenty from open play."

Yet it is the Bleuettes' now-famous 'wheel of fortune' that continues to attract the most attention.

"It's one of Cyrille's strategies – you'd have to ask him about it," Rouquet joked. "I just did what he told me to do. I went to the far post, and I'm very proud to have scored at a World Cup."

The routine's success is built not only on the quality of the deliveries – with Graziani among France's chief providers – but also on the understanding developed between the players over the years.

"We know each other, so it's easier for us," explained the Paris Saint-Germain player. "We've been working on it for several weeks, and with Justine it's been several years because we've known each other since the U-16s.

"It's something we've worked on, but there's also an instinctive element to it. Whether it's her or someone else, I know that someone is going to arrive in the area where I put the ball, so I put it there."

One thing is certain: Canada's video analysts will currently be racking their brains trying to decipher the Bleuettes' routine and work out how to stop it. The Canadians will be France's opponents in the last 16 on Thursday in Lodz.

"We've watched their group-stage games. They're a strong team with some very good players," Graziani said. "But we know what we have to do. We're France, and we'll make sure the rooster is where it needs to be, quite simply."

And, if possible, leave the young Canucks feeling a little dizzy.