Girard keen on repeat performance

Late response
The French came close to victory at White Hart Lane on Friday, taking the lead through Anthony Le Tallec's goal two minutes into the second period and preserving their slender advantage until the game's closing moments. Just as a first win on English soil at Espoirs level in 53 years looked to be in sight, however, Darren Ambrose struck with two minutes remaining to leave the second leg perfectly poised and prevent France from taking a strangehold on the tie.

Contrasting qualities
"The late equaliser means the second leg will be just as tough as the first," said Girard, whose team are expected to be cheered on by around 15,000 spectators at the Stade Marcel Picot, compared to the 34,494 who attended the first encounter. "The match will be the same. There will be no need for us to lose too much energy and act aggressively in our individual battles, as we have other qualities to offer."

Physical impact
Despite the first-half replacement of playmaker Jérémy Toulalan through inury, France largely dictated the pace of the first game and enjoyed more of the possession, something they are keen to repeat in Nancy. "We need to play on the floor to negate their physical impact," said midfielder Nicolas Fauvergue, whose side's principal threat is likely to come from Sunderland AFC striker Le Tallec - with seven qualifying goals already - and Stade Rennais FC forward Jimmy Briand.

Taylor target
England coach Peter Taylor, meanwhile, hopes to welcome back Portsmouth FC midfielder Gary O'Neil from a calf complaint, and although captain Nigel Reo-Coker, Leighton Baines, Steven Taylor and Aaron Lennon all remain sidelined, Taylor sounds confident ahead of the cross-channel trip. "I'm happy with the first-leg result because I thought the French were a lot better than us in the first half and we caused a lot of problems for ourselves," he said. "The character and attitude of the players was excellent because we kept going in the second half, created a few chances and on another night Darren Bent could have had a hat-trick so in that respect we deserved a draw."

Universal improvement
Taylor believes his team can improve considerably from their display in London, saying: "I know all the players can do better than on Friday. I was very impressed with the French but a lot of their chances came when we lost the ball in bad areas and that's something that, at any level, you simply cannot do. I have no doubt we can do a lot better and we are capable of going out there to show it."

Ambrose ambition
First-leg goalscorer Ambrose echoed his coach's words, adding: "In the first half France showed us what they could do but at half-time all the lads were very disappointed with the way we had been playing. We didn't show anything and were a bit sloppy, and we were very disappointed to concede an early goal in the second half but fought back and created a lot more chances. They were on top in terms of possession but we had the better chances. We need to go out and be confident and try and play like we did in the second half. We have a lot of very good players and can cope with any challenge."