Given that they were playing next door to a branch of Ikea it could be tempting to say Wales collapsed in the manner of badly assembled flat‑pack furniture. But that would be very wrong.
An admittedly emphatic scoreline that leaves France top of Group D and imperiously on course for the quarter-finals does not tell the whole story of a much improved Wales performance on a night when Jess Fishlock scored a historic goal.
Granted, only highly improbable mathematics dictate that their impending tournament exit is not quite rubber-stamped but Rhian Wilkinson’s players made Laurent Bonadei’s gifted side work hard for a convincing win.
Wales arrived at the St Gallen Arena in a new team bus with a fresh driver at the wheel. Wilkinson’s squad were badly shaken when their original coach was involved in a collision with a car en route to a training session on Tuesday afternoon but her switch to a back four amid a quartet of personnel changes was all about tactical choice.
In contrast Bonadei’s decision to rotate so heavily that the France starting XI contained only four survivors from the 2-1 win against England last Saturday reflected a desire to keep his stars well rested.
