Fidler wants England to hit right notes

England coach Lois Fidler will be hoping that lessons have been learned before her side faces Denmark in the 2007/08 UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship third-place play-off at Nyon's Stade Colovray. Fidler's side matched an impressive France outfit at the semi-final stage of the competition only to exit after extra time, but the English coach has demanded "an even better performance" from her squad as they continue to seek the consistency demanded by international football.

Approach
"What pleased me was the way the girls approached the [France] game and prepared for it in difficult circumstances," Fidler said. "It didn't go our way all of the time and I think the French have a scoring record that speaks for itself. The fact that we did not concede a goal against them for quite a while and created chances of our own which resulted in us taking the lead provided a really interesting lesson for our players in terms of concentration and maintaining that advantage. There's no point going 1-0 up and then within three minutes conceding an equaliser."

Composure
Nevertheless, England regained their composure and provided France with some nervous moments including a Jessica Holbrook effort which was ruled out for offside in extra time. "After France equalised, I felt the team demonstrated their resilience to see out 80 minutes and then showed character as I actually felt that we were starting to step up once we got to extra time," Fidler added. "The players have worked really hard to prepare for this event and we have had a big emphasis on the physical side. I think that went in our favour in the latter stages of extra time but to concede two penalties it was always going to be tough when you consider the quality of the French side. I said in the press conference that games can be won and lost on individual flair and individual mistakes and that proved to be the telling factor in the game. I think our goalkeeper put in a sterling performance as did our back four and I think it's a great learning experience for us which will make us a better team."

Character
But Fidler hopes her troops can bounce back. "This is all about lessons and we wouldn't expect this U17 team to be the complete package at this stage," she said. "Every single one of the players have so much more to give and we will take a lot away from that. The fact is that the team haven't faced too much adversity in their short playing careers and to do it and perform the way they did against a French side that have some fantastic players and a real strong tradition at European level – I think our girls handled themselves and I think it's a real wake-up call for them. Realisation – we talk a lot about that and it will serve to make them stronger and better players."

Consolation
With England reporting a clean bill of health, Denmark will also look to recover from their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Germany although Sofie Junge Pedersen will miss the game through injury. "We played well against Germany, and we want to continue that trend," said coach Bent Eriksen. "We intend to retain our 4-5-1 formation as it suits our style better although we expect a physical match from a side that has impressed everyone with the level of their performance."