Eugenie Le Sommer converted a late penalty to lift France past diehard Iceland 1-0, while Nina Burger’s early goal gave Austria an equally slim win over 10-player Switzerland at the Women’s Euro on Tuesday.
In Tilburg, the Netherlands, Le Sommer sent Iceland’s goalkeeper Gudbjerg Gunnarsdottir the wrong way to score from the spot on 86 minutes after substitute striker Elin Metta Jensen had brought down Amandine Henry in the box.
In the Group C opener in Deventer earlier on Tuesday, Austria captain Burger scored 15 minutes in with a clinical right-foot finish after a pass from Sarah Zadrazil in a clash of Euro newcomers.
Photo: AFP
Switzerland were reduced to 10 players after Rahel Kiwic was sent off for bringing down Burger just outside the box with half an hour to go.
France had won seven of their previous nine encounters with Iceland, but they struggled against the diehard defense.
French midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan sent her shot wide and Dagny Brynjarsdottir headed over the crossbar at the other end in the first half.
In the second, France stepped up their pressure and Iceland’s defense had a hard time stopping a ball flicked by captain Wendie Renard from Camille Abily’s free-kick.
Moments later, Renard’s header hit the crossbar after a corner, but then the defense collapsed as Jensen, who had been on the pitch for just three minutes, brought down Henry.
“We have the win, that’s the most important thing,” France coach Olivier Echouafni said. “We have to be effective. I love these games because the girls were in difficulty, but they were patient. They have been rewarded. Everyone did well.”
Austria had lost six of their previous eight encounters with Switzerland, but they were the more aggressive team in the first half.
Solid throughout, the Austrian defense all but eliminated Switzerland star Ramona Bachmann of Chelsea.
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