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UEFA WOMENS UNDER 19: Norway stand firm to reach semis

/noticias.info/ Norway withstood a barrage of late pressure from France to clinch a hard-fought 1-1 draw and qualify for the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship semi-finals. After Les Bleuettes captain Eugénie Le Sommer had cancelled out Maren Mjelde's first-half strike on 74 minutes, the hosts laid siege to the Norwegien goal but failed to force a winner. The result leaves France third in Group A, while Norway finish second with six points to set up a last-four showdown with Germany.

Urgent start
Needing to win to go through, Stéphane Pilard's side made the more urgent start, Marine Pervier stinging the hands of Norway goalkeeper Ingrid Thorbjørnsen inside two minutes. With Julie Machart relegated to the substitutes' bench, Le Sommer was employed as a solitary striker and though she fired one shot wide on 12 minutes, France's captain struggled to assert her usual influence early on.

Set-piece threat
Norway had begun cautiously, although they were presented with a golden chance when Wendy Renard lost possession to Ida Elise Enget, whose cross towards Ingvild Isaksen needed a timely interception by Karima Benameur. When Jarl Torske's side beat France 4-0 in a recent friendly, much of the damage was done from set-plays, yet the hosts appeared to be coping better here. As if to emphasise the point, France sprung forward after successfully negotiating Katrine Andresen's 30th-minute corner and might have scored had Astrid Ree not made a crucial last-ditch challenge.

Mjelde header
Five minutes later, however, the set-piece curse struck again. The French defence was static as Andresen delivered another pinpoint corner and Norway captain Mjelde arrived unopposed to glance a precise header beyond Benameur. Pilard reacted by introducing Machart at half-time and the diminutive striker immediately added energy. Thorbjørnsen produced a fine reaction save from Kheira Hamraoui's header on 52 minutes, but as France pressed they left themselves exposed and were fortunate not to concede again. Enget timed her pass to Isaksen perfectly and after seeing her initial effort superbly saved by Benameur, the Norwegian No9 rattled the post from the rebound.

Superb strike
France's ambitious approach paid dividends 16 minutes from time. Machart released Le Sommer on the right and she cut in from the byline before curling a sublime short across Thorbjørnsen and inside the far post. The closing stages of the game were played out inside the Norway penalty area for the most part, yet with Mjelde marshalling her back line with authority, the Scandinavian side held on to progress. notas_de_prensa_archivo