French face determined foes

By Pete Sanderson in Warrington

'Lucky ground'
None the less, German coach Tina Theune-Meyer is anxious her side sign off from Group B with a victory thus ensuring their semi-final is in Preston - a place with nothing but golden memories for her and her squad. "It is crucial we win this game," she told uefa.com.

'Happy memories'
"There are lots of good reasons to finish top of the group but perhaps the most important is that it will give us the chance to play in our 'lucky ground' in Preston," she added. "Every time we play there we seem to score lots of goals. We did that against Italy when we scored four and we also played there seven years and scored six against England so it is a ground with lots of happy memories for us."

'Winning habit'
But superstition is not the only motivation behind Theune-Meyer's quest for victory. "We have won our first two games and we would like to continue the run," she said. "Winning is a habit and we will give it our all to win this game. We know the Norwegians are concerned we will play a weakened team but they do not need to worry. We will play our strongest team against the French."

Dream date
With Group A's fixtures now completed and Germany in control of their own destiny, Theune-Meyer's side will end up playing one of Finland or Sweden. Victory would hand them the dream date at Deepdale with Finland while defeat would leave them in Warrington facing old foes Sweden, Germany's victims in the 2001 final.

Best players
"It does not matter who we play," Theune-Meyer added. "What matters is we get another game under our belt. We did not have much time to learn to play together before this tournament so we must use every moment we can get to allow our best players to get used to playing with one another."

Defensive formation
German have only one injury problem with right-back Kerstin Stegemann ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a knee injury. Inka Grings, who replaced her against Italy, is expected to start although if the coach elects for a more defensive formation, Sonja Fuss may come into contention.

Injury-free
France have no fresh injury doubts and are expected to start with the same side who drew 1-1 with Norway. Coach Elisabeth Loisel is more than happy with her side's performances so far but knows Germany will pose a real threat to their chances.

Solid team
"Germany are a very solid team," she told uefa.com. "They have a huge amount of experience in the finals but we will try not to focus on their previous success because I have told my players that this could be their time and they have great chance to prove themselves against the best."

Best side
France need only a point to progress, a goal Loisel believes is well within their reach. "We think Germany are the best side in the tournament but we can get a result against them," she said. "To beat them we must stop them playing their usual game and close them down as quickly as possible. We hope can't guarantee will progress but we will certainly give absolutely everything to get to the last four."