Rubio gets his wish
Thursday 25 June 2009
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France celebrate their victory (©sportsfile)
France overcame the disappointment of losing Monday's UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship semi-final 4-1 to Germany by defeating Norway to clinch third place, coming from behind with two Anaïs Ribeyra goals. Coach Paco Rubio was delighted with the way his side improved in the second half while Norway's Tarjei Smågesjø bemoaned missed chances but took positives from their finals experience.
Paco Rubio, France coach
I am happy, especially for the girls because I think they deserved at least third place. They were a bit tired here. Some of them had not played in over three weeks. We had a big disappointment on Monday but to close the season, we needed a win badly, otherwise all we did this season would have faded into oblivion. I think we had an issue in midfield in the first half. I had to make some adjustments. I wanted them to pass and we were only playing long balls forward. Almost everything went badly in the first period. We changed that in the second half. We came back and conceded an early unfortunate goal but I think we had the game in our hands already. I think the Norwegians were tired too.
The seven [France] players who did not start on Monday started today. Everybody deserved to play considering how the season went. I used them with full confidence. The most important thing is they all feel involved and that they all played. We had an outstanding squad and they did not back down after Monday's loss. They were determined to do something. We have four girls born in 1993 and are therefore already looking towards the future and the qualifying round we have in a few months with powerhouses like Iceland, Israel and Germany.
Tarjei Smågesjø, Norway coach
The first reaction is obviously disappointment. That said, in the first half we performed close to our maximum and I'm happy with what we achieved. At this level you have to take the chances you get, as a goal can turn the match. The importance of taking our chances is another lesson learned, especially against teams at the top level.
Given we've had 15 chances but only scored one goal, fourth place is of course fair, and we accept that we're the ones that have to develop our game. I think it's been very nice to be here and we've gained great experience, the football has been of a high level, and we're of course aiming at participating in the next final tournaments as well.
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