Dutch stun wasteful France
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Article summary
France 0-1 Netherlands The Dutch claimed a shock Group 5 win as France were left to rue profligate finishing in Angers.
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The Netherlands started their FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign in the best possible fashion with a 1-0 win away to France in Group 5 on Saturday.
French dominance
The home side were strong favourites to win the game, having appeared at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, and had the lion's share of both possession and scoring chances.
Sucker punch
However, the crowd at Angers watched in frustration as Les Bleues squandered a host of opportunities, before the Dutch delivered a sucker punch with their only meaningful attempt on goal. With 64 minutes on the clock, Marlies De Boer rose above France goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi to head the game's only goal.
Austrian away-days
The Netherlands go joint top of the group alongside England and Austria, who picked up their first points with a 3-0 win in Hungary. Both the Netherlands and France travel to Austria for their next qualifiers, on 29 October and 5 November respectively.
