Bussaglia brilliance rescues France

The sun was not the only thing which shone in Grimma as Norway and France played out an entertaining 2-2 draw which enabled both sides to retain hope of winning UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship Group B.

Superb free-kick
The meeting of two of the continent's finest footballing sides promised to be competitive, and so it proved in front of 1,005 spectators at the Stadion der Freundschaft. After Norway had a goal disallowed, France established a half-time advantage through Cécilia Josserand, only for it be wiped out seconds after the restart through Tone Heimlund. The same player put Norway ahead in the 66th minute, but Les Bleus rescued a point in style, Elise Bussaglia drilling in a quite superb free-kick nine minutes later.

Disallowed goal
Although the opening exchanges were intriguing, it was not until the 25th minute that a real chance was fashioned. It fell Norway's way, as Heimlund turned in a free-kick from the left into an empty net only for the celebrations to be curbed by an offside flag. Buoyed by their let off, France enjoyed their best spell of the game, intelligently switching play from right to left whenever feasible. On the half-hour, striker Josserand got behind the Norwegian defence but failed to get the purchase on a first-time shot.

Rapid response
A minute later Bussaglia fed Josserand who cleverly spun and played in Lilas Traïkia, though Erika Skarbø was equal to it. The gifted young custodian was beaten in the 34th minute, though, as Josserand raced on to another Bussaglia through ball and made no mistake from eight metres. Norway coach Jarl Torske had no complaints about France's lead, though he was obviously delighted at the way his side turned things round. Within a minute of the restart it was 1-1 as Heimlund nipped in front of Bouhaddi to flick in a deceptive cross from the right with her head.

Deserved draw
Reidun Nilsen was irresistible following her half-time intruduction for Lene Mykjåland, and she often combined brilliantly with Guro Knutsen as Norway wrested control of the game. A superb passage of play between the two - which included Nilsen's audacious nutmegging of Ophélie Meilleroux - led to the cross which created a second goal for Heimlund, as she collected a flicked header before beating Bouhaddi with a low drive. However, Bussaglia ensured a deserved draw with a blistering free-kick which drew comparisons with the legendary Frenchman Michel Platini from her coach, Bruno Bini.

Sour note
However, Bini lamented the one sour note of the game, an injury to Laure Lepailleur which resulted in the midfield player being taken to a Leipzig hospital. She seems certain to miss France's next match on Sunday against Spain, who lost 2-1 today to the Netherlands, Norway's next opponents.