France book finals berth
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Article summary
Iceland 0-3 France The visitors became the third side to qualify for the finals.
Article body
France became the third side to qualify for the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship finals alongside hosts England with a 3-0 win against Iceland in Reykjavik.
Six wins
The result confirmed Elisabeth Loisel's side as Group 3 winners with two games to spare having won all six qualifying matches to date. France moved on to 18 points with today's victory, five ahead of Iceland who have only one match to play and cannot overtake their opponents.
Early double
Two early goals from Hoda Lattaf, in the fourth and 12th minutes, put the visitors in complete control. France, who were without star striker Marinette Pichon due to a knee injury, added a third goal with 19 minutes left, Laetitia Tonazzi sealing the win.
'Relaxing summer'
"We wanted to achieve qualification in order to spend a relaxing summer," the 25-year-old Lattaf said before the game. Her fine performance in leading the line played no small part in her side achieving that ambition.
