Noë appreciates first finals

Not only had Belgium never qualified for the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship before this year, they had not played in any female major final tournament. So while they are outsiders to get the win they need against Group A leaders Germany on Sunday in Solothurn, the fact they are still in semi-final contention with one game to go is no mean feat.

'Dream come true'
Coach Anna Noë, a former Belgium captain and also the trainer of the senior national team, told uefa.com: "They are looking forward to playing Germany, for them it is like a dream come true, I am so happy for them. And we can still do something, the Germans need at least a draw. I won't have to say much to motivate them."

Mixed feelings
Belgium actually led in their first game against Denmark before falling to a 2-1 defeat after the sending-off of Adeline Médard. Two days later they held Sweden 0-0 to stay in the tournament, though Médard's fellow defender Berit Stevens picked up a booking that means the pair will both be suspended against Germany. Noë has mixed feelings about those results. "When I look back to our first game, we had to play the last 35 minutes with ten players and maybe I feel a little bit sad because I think we could have done better. We didn't know the strength of the Danish team, my girls thought they were not as good as the other teams but we started well, we scored only once and conceded an unlucky goal before half-time, got the red card, and we knew it would be very tough. The second game was very tough, we have to admit some of my players were very tired. But I was very pleased with a draw."

Closing the gap
While the juniors have qualified for their European finals, Noë's seniors have lost all their seven FIFA Women's World Cup matches. The coach hopes that the experience her squad is gaining here will have long-term benefits. "It is a learning experience for all of us, especially the players," she said. "They ask why the A-team struggle, but I say that until the age of 19 we can compete, but then the gap grows because in Belgium they only train twice a week for 90 minutes. I hope the players will learn and tell their club-mates that if they work harder they can play in a final tournament. And maybe we can reduce the gap."

Hard work needed
The team's participation here will give the Belgian Football Association even more incentive to promote women's soccer, but Noë points out the players too must do their part. She said: "Now our federation will see that there are possibilities. I tell them we have potential, but we have to work harder from the base. And some players that are here did not follow their training programme, and one metre between players in this competition is a lot. I hope the FA will see the possibilities, to have more camps. My players want to learn, and that's good. We have to give them the opportunities, but they have to work too. "