France frustrated by Netherlands
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Article summary
France 0-0 Netherlands The home side are held but defender Corinne Diacre had reason to celebrate.
Article body
France 0-0 Netherlands
Physical game
There was nothing to choose between the sides in a physical and hard-fought first half, and while the second period was one of dominance for the home team they never quite found their familiar rhythm.
Guiné strike
Debutant Alexandra Guiné's excellent strike was saved by visiting goalkeeper Marleen Wissink on 57 minutes, before Marinette Pichon came on towards the end and missed a good opportunity to score.
Diacre milestone
The game was a special one for centre-back Corinne Diacre as she surpassed Marcel Desailly's 116-game cap record for male or female French players, reaching the milestone of 117 and guaranteeing her place in the history books.
Trial and error
France coach Elisabeth Loisel was philosophical about her team's failure to score. "I thought that with the new things I tried including the young players, and players employed out of position, we would struggle a little bit," she said. "But I got some interesting answers to several questions in this game. The result was not my main concern."