Iceland and Germany vying for third place

Two teams with plenty to prove will be looking to overcome bitter disappointment and finish successful UEFA European Women's Under-17 campaigns on a high note when Iceland take on Germany in the third/fourth place play-off at the Stade Colovray, Nyon on Sunday (14.00 CET).

After impressing in qualifying, Iceland were unable to perform to their undoubted potential in falling 4-0 to Spain in Thursday's semi-final – while Germany suffered the agony of a 6-5 penalty shootout defeat against France in their semi-final after a thrilling 2-2 draw over 80 minutes.

Iceland have vowed to finish their campaign with a much better display on Sunday. "This was an accident, we're not going to play like this on Sunday – no way," is coach Thorlákur Árnason's battle cry. "We are all going to try and be positive – this was an experience for everybody."

"For the third place play-off, we're going to show people what we can do," added captain Lára Kristín Pedersen. "We've had a wonderful season, we have a good spirit, although we're disappointed. We know each other really well because it's a small country, we're all really good friends. It's a wonderful experience to have made it this far – no other Iceland national team has ever made it this far, and we're proud of that."

Germany's coach Ralf Peter says that his youngsters' setback against France will nevertheless be part of a learning process that any young player must go through as part of their career development. "We do this for development more than titles," he reflected. "The players will learn, they will become stronger – and, consequently, they will become better. And now we must look forward and try to win the third place play-off."

"[After the semi-final] we were all sad," said Germany's Annabel Jäger, whose fine goal set up the penalty shoot-out against Spain. "The next day you have to lift your head up and recover – and I think that we are such a strong team that we are confident that we can win third place."