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Nordby sets high standards

Norway No1 Bente Nordby was delighted to reach the semis but letting in three against Italy was "not good enough".

By Paul Saffer in Preston

Although coaches sometimes say they would rather see their team win 1-0 than 5-3, there is one set of people who definitely prefer the lower-scoring sort of victory.

Goalkeeper's dilemma
No goalkeeper is truly happy after conceding three times, even in the context of an eight-goal thriller where their team prevail to reach the semi-finals of, say, the UEFA European Women's Championship in truly dramatic circumstances.

'Not good enough'
Experienced Norway custodian Bente Nordby was in such a position against Italy in Preston on Sunday, and she told uefa.com: "It is great for us and we scored five goals. But to let in three is not good enough. We knew Italy would come at us and attack all the way, they were great goals, but it is not good enough for us to concede three times."

Distinguished career
Advancing to the latter stages of these tournaments is nothing new to Nordby. She was in the Norway squad that won this championship in 1993, as well as the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2000 Olympic tournament. The victory against Italy was her 145th cap - her first, in 1991, having been marked by a clean sheet against a United States team that three months later lifted the World Cup.

Hurdle cleared
Nordby is none the less delighted at her side's progress. "It's a very good feeling and it's great for us to be in the semi-finals," she said. "We wanted to take the three group games in turn and see what happened. Hopefully we can now go all the way but we'll have to see."

German favour
For Norway to go through, they not only needed to defeat Italy but also for Germany to beat Sweden. Three goals in the final 20 minutes gave the holders a 3-0 win, and unlike some of her outfield team-mates, Nordby was well aware of events elsewhere. "For the last ten minutes I knew Germany were winning," she said. "But that didn't mean we could relax because our coach was urging us not to let any goals in. When we found out it had gone to 2-0, then 3-0, it was a great feeling."

Transition period
Their progress is even more impressive because since their Olympic triumph, Norway have been in a period of transition. Nordby said: "It's difficult to compare because in 1995 and 2000 we had really strong sides. We also have a strong team now but are missing some people."

Swedish showdown
Norway will meet arch-rivals Sweden in Warrington on Thursday for a place in the final. Nordby, facing her eleventh encounter with the Swedes, says the Norwegians will have to be in peak condition for the match. "Sweden are a good team, so we have to prepare and be ready for them. But we are going to relax and take it easy for a few days," she said. "We spent Monday shopping and seeing our families, relaxing before training hard for the game. They have a lot of strength up front and in defence but hopefully we should be good enough to beat them."

Warrington return
Whereas Sweden are yet to play at the Halliwell Jones stadium, Norway had their first two fixtures there, losing 1-0 to Germany and coming from behind for what proved a vital 1-1 draw with France. Nordby has been popular with the fans in Warrington, and is pleased to be returning. "It's been great for us there and I hope people will cheer for us again against Sweden," she said. "We're all looking forward to the game."

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