French work earns finals reward

Having booked their ticket to the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, France will now attempt to win back a trophy they last claimed in 2004 - which would mean emulating an all-star lineup that included Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema, Jérémy Menez and Hatem Ben Arfa

Motivation
As if there was not enough motivation, Nasri and Benzema made their senior debuts last week against Austria, which did not escape the attention of their Olympique Lyonnais colleague Saïd Mehamda, who was part of the team that beat Norway 2-0 and Finland 3-1 before drawing 0-0 with Hungary in La Rochelle to ensure qualification. "They have developed extraordinarily," Mehamda said. "The standard [of opponents] will increase dramatically in Belgium but we'll go as far as possible. The last four would be enough as we would go to [FIFA] U-17 World Cup in Korea."

Hard work
Les Mini-Bleus have worked hard towards their goal this season, proving they could bounce back from defeats by the Czech Republic and fellows qualifier Germany, who join France in the group stage draw tomorrow in Brussels. "We prepared for the Elite round very well," Mehamda said. "When we have time to work together we can achieve very good things."

World Cup chance
Coach François Blaquart knows there is more work ahead. "Of course, to take part in the World Cup would be fantastic for those players and would be a great opportunity for them to gain more experience," he said. "But make no mistake - it will be much tougher than what we have just achieved and we had to really fight to get through."