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Draw enough for France and Norway

France face Norway at Helsinki Football Stadium on Sunday with both sides needing only a draw in their final Group B game at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ to confirmed their quarter-final places.

France coach Bruno Bini knows his side will have to concentrate against Norway.
France coach Bruno Bini knows his side will have to concentrate against Norway. ©Sportsfile

France face Norway at Helsinki Football Stadium on Sunday with both sides needing only a draw in their final Group B game of UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ to reach the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals beckon
The opponents have three points after Matchday 2, but France's superior goal difference means only a defeat can prevent Bruno Bini's charges from finishing as group runners-up behind six-time champions Germany and meeting Netherlands on Thursday in Tampere. The first draw of the tournament would also send Norway through as one of the best two third-placed teams. The contest promises to be finely balanced, with both sides having lost by four-goal margins to Germany, although France at least managed to score in their 5-1 defeat. Les Bleues occupy second place in the group after coming from behind for a 3-1 victory over an Iceland side that Bjarne Berntsen's team could only beat 1-0.

French challenge
France's position before their final game of the section has clearly come as no surprise to their coach. "We always knew that below Germany, we would be in a three-way championship with Iceland and Norway – and everything has gone pretty well as expected, though we've a few regrets about the number of goals we conceded against Germany," Bini said. France have been without midfielder Corine Franco and forward Candie Herbert since both sustained head injuries in the first-half against Iceland, though they are expected to be on the bench on Sunday. His orders to the side will be nothing if not straightforward. "We won't be making any calculations, we'll just be going out there to win," he said. "Norway are a quality side, they've been European, world and Olympic champions. But we'll be focused on our team and what we want to do."

Tough start
Looking back, Berntsen understandably has a few regrets about his team's start to their campaign, with the UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ runners-up conceding three morale-sapping goals from the 90th minute onwards against Germany. "After quite a tough start, in the last four minutes, the players were really well-prepared for the second game," he said. "We knew in advance it would be a tough, physical game against Iceland, while the other match in our group showed the quality of the German team against France. I think this will be a tight game. Our aim for sure is to go for three points."

Individual skills
Achieving that will mean keeping a close watch on France's potential matchwinners, of whom there are several. Berntsen's captain Ingvild Stensland has already pinpointed her Olympique Lyonnais club-mates Louisa Nécib and Élodie Thomis as major threats and the warning was not lost on the coach. "I think France played very well against Iceland after a poor start and showed their qualities," Berntsen added. "I think they will be a real danger because of the individual skill of their players."