Vicki Jessy Bècho Desbonne (born 3 October 2003) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Division 1 Féminine The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twelv ...

club

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and the France national team.

Early life

Vicki Jessy Bècho Desbonne was born on 3 October 2003 and grew up in Montreuil, France. Bècho first started playing football in secret, as her mother did not approve of girls playing football. One day her aunt took her mother to watch her play and she was so impressed that she was happy to let her continue. Her idols were

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

and

Lucho González Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (; born 19 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, currently a manager. A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions but mainly in the centre, he was well known for his f ...

. She would watch videos of Ronaldo before a match, and had a pair of Gonzalez' signed boots.

Career

Bècho played for SC Malay de Grand after being spotted by Ali Ben Ahmed, a coach at the club. She played until the U12 category and then joined FC Sens in 2015, joining the U13s. Then, in 2016, at 15, Becho joined the

Paris Saint-Germain Academy The Paris Saint-Germain Academy, commonly known as the PSG Academy, is the youth system of both Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain (men's team) and Paris Saint-Germain Féminine (women's team). Established in 1970, the academy is ...

. She signed for

from

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

in 2020. She signed on loan to

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in 2021. Bècho scored her first goal for Lyon in a

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

match against

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

on 7 January 2023.

International career

Bècho was called up for qualifiers for the 2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, playing all three matches and scoring against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. In the same year, she scored three goals for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the

2019 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The 2019 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship (also known as UEFA Women's Under-19 Euro 2019) was the 18th edition of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship (22nd edition if the Under-18 era is included), the annual international youth football champ ...

, including one against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and a brace to help France beat

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in extra time in the semi-finals. She was the first 15-year-old to score at the tournament since

Ada Hegerberg Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg (born 10 July 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Norway national team. Hegerberg has represented Norway at the youth international l ...

in 2011. Bècho was also called up for

2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualification The 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a women's under-19 football competition that determined the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts the Czech Republic in the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Champions ...

, playing against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, scoring against the latter. She then represented France at the

2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup ( es, Copa Mundial Femenina Sub-20 de la FIFA Costa Rica 2022, link=no) was the 10th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the ...

, where she was named player of the match for their last group stage game against

Korea Republic South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Bècho was one of three Lyon players called up to the France under-23 squad for two friendly matches against the United States in February 2023. Bècho was named to the French team for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

, and was the youngest player in the squad. She made her senior international debut at the tournament, coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute in a scoreless draw against Jamaica on 23 July. She set up

Eugénie Le Sommer Eugénie Anne Claudine Le Sommer (born 18 May 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for French club Lyon and the France national team. She primarily plays as a creative attacking midfielder and left winger, but has ...

's goal against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in the round of 16. On 2 August she scored in Les Bleues' winning match against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. She was named by FIFA as one of the tournament's "rising stars", along with the likes of

Lauren James Lauren James (born 29 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the England women's national team. Club career Arsenal James was scouted by Arsenal as a 13-year-old ...

Linda Caicedo Linda Lizeth Caicedo Alegría (born 25 February 2005) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Primera División (women), Primera División club Real Madrid Femenino, Real Madrid and th ...

, and Esmee Brugts, who had "created a lasting impact on the tournament". Despite hitting the post in her 12th spot kick in an extended

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

(Australia-France 7-6), Bècho was praised for her performance "blazing a trail down heright hand side"

International goals

Style of play

Seen as a highly promising player, Bècho has "lots of potential", technique and talented finishing, with huge quality in both feet, with power and precision in her shots. She is also known for her speed. Before France's 2023 World Cup game against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 13 August, Bècho was named by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' football journalist Jack Snape as one of "four France players who can break Australian hearts at the World Cup", along with Renard,

Diani Diani Beach is a major beach on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya (in eastern Africa). It is located south of Mombasa, in Kwale County. It has been voted Africa's leading beach destination for the fifth time running since 2015. Tourism The beac ...

, and Le Sommer.

Personal life

Bècho and teammate in the national team

Laurina Fazer Laurina Monique Fazer (born 13 October 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Club career Fazer is a youth academy graduate of Paris S ...

are almost inseparable friends, and are nicknamed "Tic et Tac" on account of their closeness.

Honours

PSG In February 2020, Bècho won the first ever Women's Golden Titi, an honorary trophy for rewarding the best player at the PSG training center. Other honours awarded while she was at PSG were: *

Coupe de France Féminine A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

(2019/20) *

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

(2019/20) Lyon *

(runners up, 2020/21) *

Women's International Champions Cup The Women's International Champions Cup (WICC) is an annual club Women's association football, women's soccer invitational tournament in the United States. Launched by Relevent Sports Group in 2018, it features four American and European women's ...

(runners up, 2021) (2022) France *

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is a competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belong to the ...

(

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) *

Sud Ladies Cup The Sud Ladies Cup (officially the Sud Ladies Cup – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a women's football tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the Toulon Tournament in 1967 and died in 2016. It is held in the region o ...

(runners up, 2022)

References

External links

Vicki Bècho
UEFA Champions League stats {{DEFAULTSORT:Becho, Vicki 2003 births Living people Women's association football forwards French women's footballers France women's youth international footballers Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players Stade de Reims Féminines players Division 1 Féminine players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players