Germany and France seek finishing touch

Clinical
Peter's side had the majority of scoring chances on Tuesday, but old weaknesses were again evident as opportunities were not converted. "At this age level, we have always had these problems because we created a lot of chances but were not clinical enough when converting and maybe we lack a finisher in the team," he admitted. "We experienced this in qualifying, so I really hope that against the French, we can take our chances as there may not be as many as we had against Denmark."

Grand slam
Nevertheless, the semi-final win still provides Peter's side with a crack at making history in women's football as Germany currently hold all European national team titles – with the exception of this new prize. "This tournament is very important for us," he said. "German women's football is very successful at all levels, with the A national team earning titles everywhere and the Under-19s also successful. Therefore, the expectations are very high, and our qualification for the final round was largely considered a must. People would now expect us to win the title and that's our objective, even though we are happy with what we have achieved so far."

Heart
Although Peter was disappointed with his own side's performance, he admitted surprise that France failed to deal more clinically with England in the other semi, a match that required extra time before they eventually prevailed 3-1. "England played with great heart and looked better tactically, in particular in the first half," the Germany coach said. "The French played a lot of long balls, while the English tried short-passing with more variety in speed. For the final, I think the French will be more offensively orientated than the Danes. Normally, that should help us as we usually have more problems against teams that defend deep with us having to take the game to them."

Resolve
In contrast, France coach Gérard Sergent, having seen his side win six from six in qualification with 36 goals scored and none conceded, felt his side showed previously unseen resolve against England, recovering from a one-goal deficit to triumph. "I was happy with our approach as we played all-out attack, but we failed to convert in front of goal," he said. "When we went a goal down, we didn't panic and there were cool heads that ensured we were level shortly afterwards. This showed that we have character, and though our substitutions turned the game, we still look back at the strengths we have collectively as a team."

Touchstone
Sergent, whose side beat Germany 3-2 in last year's Nordic Cup, believes their final opponents will provide a stern test. "You could say we are tired after such a tough performance against England, and to face Germany, the touchstone in women's football, certainly provides a challenge. Nevertheless, we have the ambition and desire to win this competition and I think the match will be open and will show our sport in a very positive light."