Makanza unmoved by Spain spectacle

France's players all watched from the stands as Spain posted a 6-0 win against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Monday, but for forward Marina Makanza the prolific Group B leaders remain an entirely beatable proposition.

Les Bleuettes quickly left the scene of their 2-0 loss to the Netherlands to take in Spain's comfortable victory at the National Arena Filip II of Macedonia, scouting the team they must face at the same venue on Thursday. While the spectacle cannot have improved their mood, Makanza feels France have the quality to take their first points in the 2010 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship.

"We went to see them play and it's true they're good on the ball, but we prefer playing against teams who use the ball rather than teams who are more physical," said the 18-year-old. "We're better in a passing game than a physical one and I think it will be a very even match."

The pacy AS Saint-Etienne player cannot have failed to notice that Spain also troubled the hosts from set pieces, however, scoring three of their goals from free-kicks or corners. The latter proved France's undoing against the Jong Oranje and it is an area that she admits they need to work on.

"That's been a bit of a problem for us," she said. "During open play we were able to control things and create chances but we let ourselves down from set pieces. We work on that a lot and we want to improve in that area, but it's difficult when we're up against teams bigger than us."

They will also need to cope without suspended central defender Adeline Rousseau, who saw red late on against the Netherlands. "Adeline is a good player at the back and we'll just have to cope," said Makanza. "We've got other defenders in our squad, though, so we'll find a way to make do without her."

She has good reason to have faith in her colleagues as the core of Jean-Michel Degrange's squad has been together for some time, having served together at the 2008 Women's European U17 Championship – where they finished runners-up – and the 2008 FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.

"We've experienced joys and disasters together as a squad," explained Makanza, who struck against England in the semi-finals of the former competition. "There's quite a few of us who went to New Zealand, which was a tough competition as we got knocked out after the group stage. We've stayed together, though, and we've all got the same objective, which is to at least reach the semi-finals here – but to do that we'll have to beat Spain, which will take a great performance."