Berntsen 'grateful to Germany'
Sunday, June 12, 2005
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Norway coach Bjarne Berntsen had words of thanks for Germany after the holders helped his side to advance.
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By Paul Saffer in Preston
Norway are celebrating tonight - not only because they defeated eliminated Italy in an exciting encounter, but also because Germany's 3-0 win against France ensured Bjarne Berntsen's side went through from Group B as runners-up ahead of Les Bleues on goal difference. Lise Klaveness (2), Marit Fiane Chritsensen, Solveig Gulbrandsen and Dagny Mellgren scored for Norway to set-up a semi-final on Thursday against old rivals Sweden. uefa.com speaks to the coaches involved.
Bjarne Berntsen, Norway coach
I am very delighted - and also very grateful to Germany for their performance. I think it was very tough for them to win against France in the situation they were in so we are very grateful. We were keeping in contact with the other game, and as soon as Germany scored we knew that we had to not let in any more goals, and play a bit more defensive because we were on the offensive the whole game. We couldn't have planned for this result, but we are very pleased with the set-pieces, and I am very happy with some of the attacking play. But if we defend like this in the semi-final we have no chance against Sweden, so we have to improve our defensive play a lot. We will train tonight to warm-down, then the girls will get a day off tomorrow and after that we will prepare for Sweden. They are our biggest rivals, and it is a special year, 100 years after the union between the nations ended, so we will look forward to the game.
Carolina Morace, Italy coach
It was difficult today to enter the pitch with the right mentality and correct concentration because we were already out. In fact, the girls gave their all and I didn't expect us to score three goals against Norway but when you give away three goals from set-pieces it makes it very hard. Women’s football in Italy is not in a good state when compared to the game in other European countries. Let's hope this tournament can bring something positive to women's football in Italy in the future because at the moment there aren't any projects or plans in place.
