Soubeyrand breaks Thuram's record
Thursday, October 29, 2009
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In helping France to two crucial victories this week Sandrine Soubeyrand replaced Lilian Thuram as the most-capped player in her nation's history. "Records are made to be broken," she said.
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In helping France to two 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup wins this week Sandrine Soubeyrand replaced Lilian Thuram as the most-capped player in her nation's history.
Soubeyrand record
Having opened their Group 1 campaign with a 7-0 victory in Croatia last month, France faced a crucial encounter with Iceland on Saturday in Lyon and triumphed 2-0 with goals from Gaëtane Thiney and Élodie Thomis. They followed that up on Wednesday by winning 12-0 against Estonia in Le Havre in front of nearly 10,000 fans and by appearing in both of this week's games, 36-year-old FCF Juvisy midfielder Soubeyrand took her cap tally to 143, one ahead of Lilian Thuram.
Landmark
"It was a pleasant moment," Soubeyrand told fff.fr. "But records are made to be broken. Tonight I erased Lilian's. Mine will be the next. In the meantime, the main point for me is to keep the coach's confidence." That coach, Bruno Bini, added: "Tonight a lord has replaced a lord." As for the win against Iceland, who gave France a tough time in UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifying and also faced them in the finals, Bini said: "We always try to control the game. We cannot do it all the time but the intention is there. It was the case on Saturday at the Stade Gerland and again tonight."