Lyon's Carage eager to ride wave of support

France have made serene progress at the WU19 EURO, cruising into the semi-finals with a game to spare – but a semi-final against Spain represents a step up. Noémie Carage, a scorer in the 4-0 victory over Israel, admits as much but is confident that team spirit and a groundswell of support for the women's game in France can spur them on.

"Spain are an excellent team, and I think it will be a very good semi-final," Carage told UEFA.com. "It's going to be an excellent match between two very big footballing nations. I don't know if we're favourites – that's a bit too hard to judge at the moment. We'll have to see what happens. Without a doubt, it is a very big match for France."

The Lyon left-back is part of a defence that are yet to concede in six WU19 EURO matches in the competition this season, qualifying included. France have won six out of six and expectations are growing all the time. "Lots of people back home want to see us do well and succeed, and while we have always had people behind us, there are definitely more now.

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"It is always lovely to see so many messages of support for us, and it does make us want to win for them too. It's a great motivation for us. I've definitely seen an increase in the number of supporters, the girls who were at the World Cup are well known, and the people of France were behind them.

"We're learning a lot here, we've played some good teams and for many of us it's a new experience, one which we will learn from and it will benefit us in the future. As a team, we've a solidarity and when you're at this level, and earning these experiences, confidence grows.

"There's a great feeling in the squad at the moment, the group has stayed really positive and there's a very, very good atmosphere among the players and staff." France will need to harness that spirit on Friday when they take on Spain in Lod.

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