Hartel heralds German tenacity

Goalscoring hero Susanne Hartel hailed Germany's never-say-die attitude after they withstood heavy pressure from France to book their place in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship final.

Decisive strike
The game looked to be slipping away from the holders when they relinquished a two-goal advantage in ten second-half minutes. Marie-Laure Delie almost gave Les Bleuettes the lead late on when her header rebounded off the crossbar, yet Germany held out and came back strongly in extra time. Penalties were six minutes away when Hartel struck her team's third goal in a 4-2 victory. "Obviously I feel pretty good," said the 19-year-old. "My strike was decisive and it got us back into the game after being forced to defend for so long."

'Never give up'
Hartel had entered the fray just after the hour when the score was 1-0 and admitted to having some doubts as France fought back with such ferocity. "In these kinds of games and in these situations you do think 'this is it' sometimes when you miss chances or let leads slip," said the SC Freiburg forward. "But one of our strengths is that we never give up and can always find another level. We scored towards the end and so we go to the final. It's my first tournament and so I'm excited but the whole team is already looking forward to the final and winning this cup."

'Strength in depth'
Only six members of this squad were involved 12 months ago as Germany ended a four-year wait to claim the title for a fourth time in nine seasons. Yet such is the strength of women's football in the country that this summer's generation have proved just as powerful. "It's a strength for us," said Hartel. "We have strength in depth and people who can come in in every position. We essentially have a team of 18 players, with the same quality throughout." Whether that surpasses England's will be seen on Sunday.