France aim to spoil Iceland dream

All to play for
Iceland beat France 1-0 in June 2007 to take control of the pool and lead their final-day hosts on head-to-head record. France have reached the last three final tournaments but Les Bleues will be well aware that two years ago, in similar circumstances, they played England in a FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying decider needing a win, but ended up drawing. At least this time the runners-up will go into October's play-offs for a second shot at reaching Finland.

Goalkeeping change
France are missing goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, with the experienced Céline Deville taking her place, but midfielder Elise Bussaglia believes they can make up for their defeat in Iceland. "We approach this game with the feeling that we missed our chances at first game against Iceland," she said. "At the opposite end, they scored on one of their rare chances. Now we expect a dogfight to get past a tight defence as they just need one point and have physically strong players. We'll have to get round this defence and score quickly. But it's this sort of game we train hard for."

Landmark
They warmed up with a 6-0 friendly win against top-flight club La Roche ESOF, and the match in La Roche-sur-Yon will be special for 28-year-old defender Sonia Bompastor, as she wins her 100th cap, a mark only previously reached by captain Sandrine Soubeyrand and assistant coach Corinne Diacre. "I could not hope for better in my career than joining those two great players, who left their mark on French football," Bompastor said.

Iceland aim
Having taken his team to the brink of their best run since reaching the two-legged 1995 quarter-finals, Iceland coach Sigurdur Ragnar Eyjólfsson admits his team are outsiders to avoid their third qualifying play-off in four editions. "France are more likely to win, they are better and are at home," he said. "We discovered their strength in our first game but we still have a chance and could cause a surprise. First and foremost we will put lot of effort in our defence because France are very good at attacking but a draw is enough for us and as France will attack with many players that may also open possibilities for us." With the competition's eleven-goal top scorer Margrét Lára Vidarsdóttir, the hero in the first game, up front, Eyjólfsson certainly has ammunition, and hundreds of fans have travelled to support them, with many more of Iceland's 300,000 population watching back home.