Soubeyrand urges France to dig deep

Captain Sandrine Soubeyrand insists France will do "everything possible" to rebound from a 5-1 defeat by Germany and reach the quarter-finals by avoiding a loss to Norway in their Group B final match on Sunday.

Off course
Les Bleues were heading in the right direction at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ after a Matchday 1 comeback victory over Iceland, only to have their chances of reaching the last eight jeopardized by losing to the holders. Already above Bjarne Berntsen's team on goal difference, the pressure is now on France to secure the draw they need to progress and Soubeyrand has urged her team-mates to dig deep and do just that.

Errors punished
"The Germany result did not reflect our performance," the FCF Juvisy midfielder said. "They were just very efficient, they capitalised on every mistake we made but we can't be too upset because they did the same to Norway in the first match; they exploit every little mistake. However, we also know we could have scored another goal against them. OK, it wouldn't have affected the result much, but, psychologically, it would have helped."

Past meeting
The sides met in similar circumstances at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, though the roles were reversed, with Norway requiring a point and France needing a victory to reach the knockout phase. Les Bleues took a first-half lead, but a 66th-minute equaliser by Isabell Herlovsen sent them crashing out of the tournament and for Soubeyrand, who played that day, it still serves as a stark warning.

'High hopes'
"We know from past experience we have a difficult task against Norway," she said. "But we still have high hopes. The match starts 0-0 and we know we simply cannot lose. From the start, we knew this section would be difficult. Norway and Germany both played the final of EURO 2005 but we will find motivation within ourselves. We will do everything possible to ensure we get the result we need, put all our strength into it and try to show all our qualities."