Sakina Karchaoui was generally regarded as a star of the French women’s game before her 2021 move to PSG Féminines.
Still, her game has undoubtedly reached new levels as her time in the French capital has gone on.
Some wondered if she was capable of playing at such a high level in the Première Ligue (as the French women’s top flight is now known), with the 2020/21 campaign being one in which she endured a run of mediocre performances at rivals Lyon Féminin.
However, she has proven those doubters wrong and is now arguably one of the first names on the PSG teamsheet.
As her career has progressed, she has predominantly played left-back, but she has also operated in other roles.
This is something that new head coach Fabrice Abriel (who left Fleury 91 Féminines over the summer and subsequently replaced now-London City Lionesses coach Jocelyn Prêcheur at Stade Jean-Bouin) has really looked to exploit, with her seen playing on the wing and in central midfield in some matches.
Given her unmistakable quality as a full-back, this might seem like a strange decision for Abriel to make.
Still, as this tactical analysis will indicate, it is actually a smart one.
It enables her talents to benefit the team in many different and perhaps surprising ways.
Sakina Karchaoui At Left-Back
Before discussing what she offers in those alternative positions, though, it is essential to first understand why Sakina Karchaoui has become one of the best players in the French women’s game.
It is clear whenever watching her that PSG always have a better chance of winning whenever she is involved.
One reason for that reputation is her desire to operate with an attacking mindset.
It is rare to see her hanging back; instead, she constantly looks to support her team’s offensive moves at every opportunity.
This can be done by making an overlapping or underlapping run, or, as is shown here, it can simply come through her offering a passing outlet for the rest of her team to find in advanced spaces.
In this case, she had noticed the gap on the far side wing and had moved to allow the ball to be transferred deep into the Guingamp Féminines half with a long aerial pass, which fellow France defender Élisa de Almeida makes here.
Once she has the ball in these positions, Karchaoui can look to either set up a shot on goal or weave her way into a position from which she can test her own luck.
The fact that she has found the back of the net on two occasions already this season and has seen four of her five shots on goal be on target highlights that she is not only a creator but also poses a significant goal threat.
That brings this scout report to another critical aspect of her play: her unpredictability and the options she gives her teammates around the field.
In this case, PSG executed a series of transitional passing sequences, and fellow wide player Tara Elimbi Gilbert passed the ball backwards for Karchaoui to control.
At this point, the latter player gets her head up and assesses what is happening around her.
What she is looking for are the spaces that the opposing side has left open.
That dictates which foot she moves the ball onto, with each giving her cross a different trajectory.
In this case, with Guingamp opting for a high back line and leaving territory open between the defenders and the goal, Karchaoui has used her right foot to make an inswinging delivery.
In contrast, she might have looked for an outswinging one from her left foot had they sat back more and left space open further up the pitch.
On this occasion, the cross was accurate enough for France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto to set Romée Leuchter up to find the back of the net from close range.
This allowed the Netherlands and former Ajax Vrouwen striker to continue her strong start to life in Paris after netting 20 times in the Vrouwen Eredivisie last time out.
There is no doubting the role that Karchaoui played in facilitating the opportunity, though.
Her ability to adapt to what is happening around her is another reason that she has been such a vital component in PSG’s play.
However, given that she is a defender, it would be remiss not to highlight what she offers without the ball, too.
Parallels can be drawn between how she acts out of possession and in it.
Here, she has noticed that Guingamp is looking to break out of their half and has moved to press Canada international Latifah Abdu, forcing her to turn back towards her own half and swiftly bringing the threat of a counterattack to a conclusion.
Any team needs to be strong at ending opposing attacks in this manner in the modern game.
However, it is particularly critical against Guingamp because their game plan tends to revolve around defending as a unit and hitting teams on the break, using the pace and presence of Nepal striker Sabitra Bhandari.
Therefore, having a player who can press with intent and prevent them from connecting the dots and unlocking that attacking potential will always be essential to have on the field, and it is another reason that Karchaoui has been a key player for them over the years.
Sakina Karchaoui Alternative Position
As mentioned, though, PSG has looked to move her around as the season has gone on, with Sakina Karchaoui evolving from a left-back to a midfield playmaker and sometimes even a forward.
It might have led to some confusion among fans at first, but it has undoubtedly worked out for Abriel and his team so far and made PSG an even trickier side to face.
The first advantage that it has given them is an increased range of options whenever they are in transition and are moving the ball into different parts of the field.
This was particularly good for them when they travelled to the newly promoted Nantes Féminines.
The home side’s tactics on the day were based on sitting behind it and making it as difficult as possible for PSG to break them down.
To that end, they lined up in a 3-4-2-1 structure that gave them relative solidity, and it did appear at first glance as though Abriel’s side would endure a frustrating 90 minutes.
However, the decision to start Karchaoui in the midfield for that game helped them find a way through.
She offered the same range of options on the ball and, therefore, never made it obvious where the ball would travel next.
As a result, Nantes had to continually guard against several possibilities whenever Karchaoui had the ball at her feet, with her capable of finding passes in multiple directions (as indicated by her 83.4% passing accuracy for the season so far) or of retaining the ball for a period of time if there was nothing available for her to look at.
Her tendency to make sharp turns on the spot, combined with her shifting into the midfield, has undoubtedly made PSG a much more difficult team to contain.
This is one reason why having her in the central third has worked out for them so far.
Another advantage is her defensive pressing and desire to continually break attacks up.
She again brings the same qualities as she demonstrated at left back and uses them to make it as hard as possible for opponents to gain territory whenever they have the ball.
In this case, Le Havre Féminines are attempting to progress up the field through Christy Gavory.
The fact that she is running forward and Karchaoui has been forced to turn means that the former does have the advantage here.
However, what shines through in moments like this is the latter’s determination and desire never to be beaten, with her here adjusting quickly and recovering well to get back and dislodge the ball from between Gavory’s feet.
With her making 15 interceptions in four matches this season and succeeding in 68.4% of her defensive duels, she is once again proving to be a highly effective defender.
Starting her in midfield only allows that to flourish, as well as giving PSG an even better opportunity to break up opposing passing sequences and halt counterattacks at the earliest available opportunity.
Karchaoui has not only been used as a central midfielder but has also acted as a left winger on occasion.
One game in which Abriel moved her into that role was when his new team hosted his old one, and it was likely due to him attempting to implement an aggressive pressing style of play in a bid to prevent Fleury from gaining any momentum as soon as they had regained the ball inside their own half.
With Karchaoui’s aforementioned appetite for engaging in 1-v-1 battles in advanced spaces, Abriel clearly felt that PSG would be best served by deploying her higher up the pitch, so he switched her and Gilbert around.
The effect was very positive.
It is clear here how Karchaoui has closed Fleury’s Aïrine Fontaine down inside her own third.
The same thing happened here as against Guingamp: Fontaine was forced to turn back rather than advance any further up the pitch.
PSG Féminines High Regains Map 2024/2025
This graphic highlights the fact that PSG’s tactics under Abriel have been heavily based on the desire to win the ball as rapidly as possible.
Therefore, it is evident why he might feel that Karchaoui should be situated further up the pitch in order to make the best use of her individual qualities.
With her contributing 10 of their 99 high regains, 12 of their 124 counter-pressing recoveries, and two of their 28 dangerous recoveries this season (at the time of writing), it is unquestionably a strategy that has worked out for PSG so far.
Whilst it is perhaps odd to see her in these more advanced spaces, it does seem likely that it is not a temporary change.
Sakina Karchaoui In The International Game
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Sakina Karchaoui has been seen in these alternative roles.
She played in those positions on occasion before the current season got underway.
It is also something that the French national team built into their tactics during the latter stages of now-Saudi Arabia men’s national team head coach Hervé Renard’s reign.
The 2024 Olympic tournament was a time when this became increasingly apparent.
It proved especially useful in the quarter-final encounter with eventual silver medallists Brazil, with Karchaoui deployed in the midfield and tasked with drawing opponents out of position, creating gaps that her teammates could then exploit.
This was one occasion when that could be seen, with the PSG player in possession as France tried to progress up the field and having former clubmate and now Chelsea Women forward Sandy Baltimore on her outside.
At this moment, Karchaoui has ample time to find Baltimore, and the latter would have enough space to run forward and set up a shot on goal.
However, Karchaoui knows that Baltimore has a chance to give it even more space and so holds onto the ball for a fraction of a second longer than others might have done in this position.
By doing so, she tempts Tenerife defender Thaís Ferreira into closing her down, which gives Baltimore a better chance of controlling the ball without coming under too much pressure before delivering it into the goal area.
On this occasion, Orlando Pride and former Arsenal Women’s defender Rafaelle Souza might have missed the chance.
However, the point still stands that Karchaoui’s awareness and decision-making were vital to creating the attack.
Being able to control the tempo of the play in this manner and to dictate what happens and when is undoubtedly one of the critical reasons for France using her in this position and matching what PSG have started to do, too.
The other positive aspect of Karchaoui’s positional change is that it has solved a conundrum that many fans and analysts have been wrestling with for a while.
At the time of writing, France has two outstanding left-backs in Karchaoui and Lyon’s Selma Bacha, and it has often been challenging to decide who starts and who acts as the backup option.
With Karchaoui now starting in an alternative role, that is no longer an issue, as it is possible to have them both on the field simultaneously.
In addition to the obvious benefits when France is on the attack, it also allows them to cover for each other whenever the ball has been lost, and they come under pressure inside their own third.
In this case, Brazil has sought to do just that, with Atlético Madrid Femenino centre-back Lauren sending the ball down the line for star attacker Gabi Portilho to turn and run with, and Bacha had come out to close her down.
However, the Corinthians Feminino player gets the better of her and takes Bacha out of the game, which would have ordinarily left France exposed and vulnerable to her speed.
On this occasion, though, Bacha was saved by Karchaoui, who read the danger and got back to end the threat.
She successfully tackled Portilho before she could send the ball into the middle.
Given the threat that Portilho posed during the tournament, this was critical and highlights once again why having Karchaoui in an alternative role has really benefitted France.
Another result of this tactical switch is that Karchaoui has been able to try her luck in front of goal much more regularly.
She has always been known for her offensive threat and, much as she does for PSG, is known for making her way into the final third and both creating and taking shots at goal.
However, because she needed to track back and not completely abandon her defensive duties, she always felt hindered by the amount of attacking threats she could offer.
With her now starting higher up the field and not required to get back in quite the same way, she can focus even more on the offensive side of the game.
This leads to the situation shown here, with New Zealand’s Aston Villa Women goalkeeper Anna Leat giving the ball away from her clearance and Karchaoui in a position to seize upon it immediately.
She turns the cheap regain into a shot on goal only a couple of seconds after.
It might not have ended in a goal, with Leat recovering well and atoning for her error.
However, the point still stands that having Karchaoui in these spaces from the start, rather than asking her to run up the field to get into the same areas, has undoubtedly aided her and the team.
Continuing to play her in these spaces will only aid France’s bid to test their opponents on a fairly regular basis.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has taken a closer look at PSG Féminines and France left-back Sakina Karchaoui’s style of play.
She started the season in her usual back-line role but has quickly evolved into an all-rounder for her domestic side.
She is used in central spaces and on the wing as her team has tried to find roles that best utilize her qualities.
As the analysis has made clear, Karchaoui has not been learning new ideas to match the demands of her alternative positions.
Instead, it has been about developing her skill set and adapting it to suit the additional space that she has now been given to roam in.
With PSG currently sitting second in the Première Ligue standings, just one point behind arch-rivals Lyon, things currently look very good for Fabrice Abriel’s side.
They are not in this season’s Champions League group stages, having been knocked out in the second qualifying round by a resurgent Juventus Femminile, so they do at least have more time to prepare for each league game this season.
However, the form of their star names has undoubtedly been critical to their looking so bright during the opening stages of the domestic campaign.
Karchaoui is undoubtedly one of those and will be worth keeping an eye on as each week goes by.
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