French women’s football is currently as good as it ever has been, with plenty of up-and-coming players establishing themselves both in the Division 1 Feminine and on the international stage. One of those, who has been starring for PSG Feminine this season, is forward Sandy Baltimore. She ordinarily plays as a left-sided wide forward in their preferred 4-3-3 system (which they have used 73% of the time so far), but she also contributes to her side’s attacking play in many other ways too. In this tactical analysis, we will look in detail at Baltimore’s game, focusing on her different roles during matches, her spatial awareness and how it fits into PSG’s attacking tactics, and her ability to link up with teammates to create goalscoring opportunities in tight games.
Different roles in the team
The first thing to analyse is the variety of roles that Sandy Baltimore can play in. As mentioned, she is primarily a wide forward, but can also cut inside to support teammates in the final third when needed, which is why she has become such an integral player for PSG Feminine this season.
When on the wing, she shows a good awareness of what is happening inside the box, and has a good habit of delivering balls at the right moment. Here, in PSG’s recent Champions League meeting with WFC Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv, Baltimore has been closed down by one of their defenders. However, this is where one of her key qualities comes into being, as, instead of rushing the cross, or playing a pass back to one of her teammates, she looks to throw her marker off with quick movements, creating a gap to enable her to make the cross.
When she does manage to catch the defender out, Canada forward Jordyn Huitema, in the yellow circle, is ready to meet her cross, converting the chance into PSG’s opening goal against the Ukrainian champions. Baltimore is comfortable in tight spaces such as this, having won 40.4% of her offensive duels in all competitions this season, and defenders being drawn out towards her means that there is more space in the middle for PSG’s central attackers to occupy, so it benefits them for her to be in these positions.
