Steen guides Norway to England

By Eivind Aaarre

Åge Steen achieved his final ambition as Norway coach before stepping down by guiding the Scandinavians to the finals of next summer's UEFA European Women's Championship.

Indoor venue
Twice the champions of this continent in the past, Norway were always likely to become the seventh nation to qualify for the eight-team tournament after winning the first leg 7-2 in Iceland on Wednesday. They completed a 9-3 aggregate success today thanks to two Dagny Mellgren goals in front of 1,147 supporters at the Oslo's Vallhall arena.

Neat work
Mellgren gave Norway the lead after 22 minutes, an advantage the home side held for 45 minutes before Nina Kristinsdóttir drew Iceland level. Visiting coach Helena Ólafsdóttir may have settled for a draw against superior opponents, but Mellgren was not finished and sealed the second-leg success in the 80th minute following neat work from Marit Fiane Christensen.

New coach
A new coach will be in charge of Norway by the time the draw for the final round takes place in Manchester on 19 January following Steen's decision to stand down. Sweden, Denmark, France and Germany qualified automatically alongside hosts England, while Finland have also progressed via the play-offs. The eighth and final place will go to either Italy or the Czech Republic.