Valérie Gauvin


Valérie Marie Christelle Gauvin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Montpellier in the Division 1 Féminine and for the French national team. She was born in Sainte-Clotilde on the island of Réunion.

Club career

Toulouse

Gauvin was born on the French island of Réunion and moved to the south-west of mainland France with her mother and sister at the age of 4. At the age of 12 she joined Toulouse to train with the club, and at the age of 16 joined the senior team in the Division 2 Féminine. In 2012–13, Gauvin played for Toulouse in the Division 1 Féminine before being relegated back to the Division 2 Féminine. In the 2013–14 season she was the top scorer of the league with 32 goals in 20 games. During her time at Toulouse, she also scored 45 goals in the National U19 Challenge.

Montpellier

In June 2014, Gauvin returned to the Division 1 Féminine, joining Montpellier. In May 2017, following a successful season in which she scored 13 goals in 17 appearances and helped Montpellier qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League, Gauvin signed a contract extension until 2020.

International career

In July 2012, Gauvin represented France under-16 at the 2012 Nordic Under-16 Cup. She started in the 1–0 loss to Sweden, started and scored the first goal in the 5–1 victory over Finland, and started and scored a brace in the 3–0 victory over Norway, giving France the third place in the tournament.
In October 2012, Gauvin represented France under-17 in the first round of the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification campaign. She started all 3 matches, scoring a brace in the 5–0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a brace in the 12–0 victory over Lithuania, and a hat-trick in the 5–0 victory over Hungary. In March 2013, she was in the French squad for the second round. She started and scored a goal in both the 3–1 victory over Northern Ireland and in the 2–0 victory over Finland, but came on as a 75th minute substitute in the 1–1 draw with Spain, who qualified due to a better goal-difference.
In July 2015, Gauvin helped France to win the gold medal at the 2015 Summer Universiade, including opening the scoring against Russia in the 2–0 victory in the final.
In September 2015, Gauvin was called-up to the French senior team for the first time, for matches against Brazil and Romania. She made her official debut appearance for the French senior team on 23 October 2015, in a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands, coming on as a substitute for Marie-Laure Delie in the 71st minute.
In November 2016, Gauvin was selected for France's under-20 squad for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She played in a friendly against Canada in Australia ahead of the tournament, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory. In the tournament's group stage she came on as a late sub in the 0–0 draw against the United States and in the 2–0 victory over New Zealand. She started in the 2–2 draw against Ghana, providing the assist for the first goal by Delphine Cascarino. In the knock-out stage she came on as a sub in extra-time in the semi-final 2–1 victory over Japan and in the 73rd minute in the final against North Korea which France lost 3–1.
In March 2017, Gauvin represented the French secondary senior team at the 2017 Istria Cup. She played in all 4 matches, scoring a hat-trick against Hungary B. France B finished the tournament in third place, beating Northern Ireland 1–0.
On 23 October 2017, Gauvin scored her first goal for the French senior team in an 8–0 victory over Ghana during a friendly match. On 6 April 2018, Gauvin scored a hat-trick in an 8–0 victory over Nigeria.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gauvin goal.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.23 October 2017Stade Auguste Delaune, Reims, France8–08–0Friendly
2.7 March 2018Orlando City Stadium, Orlando, United States3–03–0SheBelieves Cup
3.6 April 2018MMArena, Le Mans, France2–0
8–0
Friendly
4.6 April 2018MMArena, Le Mans, France5–0
8–0
Friendly
5.6 April 2018MMArena, Le Mans, France6–0
8–0
Friendly
6.4 March 2019Stade de la Vallée du Cher, Tours, France3–0
6–0
Friendly
7.4 March 2019Stade de la Vallée du Cher, Tours, France5–0
6–0
Friendly
8.4 April 2019Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France1–13–1Friendly
9.8 April 2019Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg, France4–04–0Friendly
10.31 May 2019Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, Créteil, France1–02–0Friendly
11.12 June 2019Allianz Riviera, Nice, France1–02–12019 FIFA Women's World Cup
12.23 June 2019Stade Océane, Le Havre, France1–02–12019 FIFA Women's World Cup