France Ladies 1 England Ladies 1 - World Cup Qualifier

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, R. Unitt (C.Stoney 45), K.Chapman, A.Asante, M.Philip, K.Carney (L.Johnson 90), F.Williams, E.Aluko, K.Smith, R.Yankey (S.Smith 78).

Match Report: Phew! I said beforehand that the only thing that mattered about this game was the result and the scoreline above tells you everything you need to know.

England's women booked their passage to China for next years' World Cup finals with this draw in France and seldom have an England side deserved the scenes of wild celebration which followed this titanic struggle as much as this one.

This was not the best game of football ever played but it was as tense and as gruelling as any I have ever witnessed. I predicted that nerve, concentration and sheer will power might be the most important virtues required by England in this fixture and so it proved.

For long periods they came under intense pressure and had to suffer a nerve shredding last five minutes but their resolve, determination and organisation never faltered.

Above all there were towering performances from the central defensive pairing of Anita Asante and Mary Philip. Philip was as reliable as usual while Asante was a genuine colossus.

I make no bones about the fact that I had not been convinced by Asante and felt she might be the weak link standing in for the injured skipper Faye White.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Asante was a rock winning everything that came near her and, more impressively, showing absolutely perfect judgement in her challenging.

Time and again she was faced with opponents running into the box and there is no doubt the French were longing for a ill timed or rash challenge from the England defence.

Time and again Asante met the danger head on, staying on her feet and using her body strength to remove the danger. When she did put a foot in her timing was impeccable.

Okay she got booked but it was for flattening someone right out on the wing, well out of harms way and it was a harsh yellow anyway.

The game started wonderfully well for England as they dominated possession in the opening quarter hour and kept the French pinned back in their own half, often in their own box.

England enjoyed a real spell of pressure after winning a corner when Fara Williams bundled the ball out of the keepers' hands after she appeared to cleanly take a centre from the left.

Having been allowed to continue England were a little unfortunate that the loose ball ran away from Williams to be hacked behind.

The French could not clear their box at this stage as corner followed corner but England didn't look much like capitalising.

It was heartening to see all the play at that end of the field, however, and the discomfort of the French defence was highlighted as a snatched clearance provided Karen Carney with a shooting chance from 25 yards but unfortunately the shot was similarly wild.

England's early assurance was highlighted by a fine passing move out of defence which swept the length of the pitch and ended with Kelly Smith cutting in from the right onto her favoured left foot.

From the position in which she inflicts so much damage, however, Smith could only drag her shot wide of the near post.

There were a couple of uncomfortable moments when the French did get into England territory. Carney lost possession on the edge of her own area allowing a French forward to go to ground with Carney and Unitt in attendance.

Fortunately the referee was not fooled by this devious little piece of skullduggery and play continued.

Moments later Rachel Unitt looked in trouble as a through ball asked her to turn but Rachel Brown was out quickly to smother any potential danger.

England's superior passing was emphasised by a neat passage of play involving Carney, Smith and Yankey and then Smith won a free kick along the left hand byeline with a forceful run but again nothing came from the set piece.

The game now entered a scrappy phase which seemed to suit the French. It was the home side that emerged from these exchanges holding the upper hand and the rest of the first half became an increasing trial for England.

The England defence was almost caught napping by a quick free kick played in low down the right hand side of the box but Rachel Yankey was back sharply to spare the possible blushes of her defensive colleagues.

Kelly Smith was gifted a shooting opportunity by a French defender but could not seriously trouble Sarah Bouhaddi from 35 yards.

A good move down the left ended with a quality centre beyond Unitt at the far post but the defender did just enough in recovering to put Laetitia Tonazzi off her shot.

It was at this time that Asante got her caution for checking Hoda Lattaf as she scampered down the left but it was the Arsenal defender who was now England's most noticable player as she covered quickly and effectively any through balls played towards the England danger area and met everything in the air emphatically.

A lapse by Mary Philip, miscontrolling with her chest, gave Marinette Pichon her first sight of goal and England were relieved to see the shot flash wide at the near post.

Asante then made her one slip of the night as she failed to cut out a low centre from the right allowing Pichon another chance and this time Brown was called into action, making a comfortable save by the foot of her post.

The momentum was now completely with the French as England were harried into conceding possession inside their own half and the home side were more or less laying seige to the England penalty area.

This might have been the time to plant a few agricultural balls down the channels and asking Aluko, Carney and Yankey to chase into the corners but England kept trying to play their way out of trouble only to achieve the exact opposite.

With England struggling to clear from a corner Lataff sent in a more dangerous effort but Brown was again down smartly to save by her post.

There was no faulting the effort of the England side as everyone dropped back to pile in challenges and blocks but half time could not come soon enough by this stage.

As England continued to invite pressure on themselves there was the worrying sight of Unitt pulling up with what looked like a hamstring injury and Katie Chapman suffering after taking a blow clearing yet another corner.

England must have been prepared for a possible battle and they were now very definitely in the middle of one.

Despite the worrying climax to the half with the game goalless England were still in the box seat and the dominance of Philip and Asante along with a tigerish dislpay from Alex Scott at right back gave plenty of cause for optimism.

It woud be important to work out a way of relieving the pressure during the break, however.

Rachel Unitt was indeed unable to continue after the break which meant Casey Stoney coming on to play at left back.

Although Stoney is perhaps England's most accomplished full back defensively she was now having to play on her weak side and this was something of a worry.

France continued to have the better of things as the second half got under way but to nowhere near the same degree as they had dominated in the lead up to half time.

Alex Scott and Carney combined cleverly to win England a corner which came to nothing while Yankey was unlucky after driving infield and attempting to slip a cute ball through for Carney which was cut out more by luck than judgement.

There was a real scare, however, when a deep free kick from the left found Sandrine Soubeyrand escaping her marker in front of goal but with a firm contact required she could only glance her header wide.

Kelly Smith was unable to punish Bouhaddi for a poor clearance while Alex Scott breathed a sigh of relief after missing a tackle down the side of the box only to see Tonazzi overhit her centre with options in the middle.

The game was opening up as France's need for a goal became more pressing by the minute.

The best French move of the game saw a neat lay off give Elise Bussaglia a chance but her strike only possessed power, not sufficient accuracy, and Brown could watch as it passed the angle.

Pichon then drew a good save out of the England keeper with a shot which deflected off Asante who was, as ever, in close attendance.

England were finding it increasingly possible to work their way into the French half but were not looking overly concerned about really pushing for a goal. Reasonably so at this stage.

Carney received possession over the halfway line, tight to the touchline and with little support. With typically nimble footwork she moved away from one defender and drew a foul from another.

This was an opportunity for England to throw players forward and when Rachel Yankey sent in a lovely inswinging ball towards the penalty spot Fara Williams rose highest of all and the ball looped perfectly into the corner, just brushing Bouhaddi's grasping fingertips on its way into the net.

Cue bedlam from the England camp and their respectable band of followers behind that very goal.

Even Football England could not, however, award the goal to Football England favourite Fara Williams.

The ball had come off Hoda Lattaf, possibly her shoulder, and credit where credit is due. The French number 10 had put England ahead in this most vital of games' and the home side now needed to score twice in the 25 minutes or so that remained.

If England thought the remaining minutes would be spent in the comfort zone they were given an immediate shock as their goal enjoyed three real escapes in the minute following them taking the lead.

The French got in immediately down the right and when the ball was squared back a goal looked odds on only for an England body to deflect the shot behind for a corner.

This was taken short and with England caught napping Pichon speared a drive towards the near post which Brown did extremely well to deflect behind with her foot.

From the next corner there was a bigger let off. The ball was played back out of the crowd to the edge of the box and the resulting shot was goalbound until Lattaf flicked it wide from inside the six yard box.

It is possible that Carney might have been able to clear but it was good of England's French goalscorer to do the job for her.

Having recovered their composure England looked capable of seeing the game out in some comfort. Aluko set off on a driving run from the left hand side which took her across the face of the penalty area for a drive which rose just too high and cleared the angle.

Then Kelly Smith almost had Aluko through on goal only for a last ditch interception to deny her.

France continued to press forward whenever possible but Asante was growing in stature by the minute and Katie Chapman looked determined to head every corner into the England box clear herself.

Fara Williams forced a decent save out of Bouhaddi with a sweet volley from close on 40 yards while a smart break to the byeline and a dangerous cut back by Aluko went to waste as her teammates watched from deep.

Mary Philip swept up swiftly when Asante found herself in a spot of trouble and Williams produced a superb block at the near post as the England goal again came under pressure.

There seemed little conviction within the French side that they could now recover this situation when suddenly, in the last minute of normal time, the substitute Ludivine Diguelman swung over a centre from the left wing which caught Rachel Brown out and dropped conveniently into the wall of the net.

Suddenly relative calm was replaced by absolute tension. All eyes now turned towards the fourth official and 4 minutes was not what we wanted to see.

The French poured forward desperately and a quality ball in from the left allowed one of the French players a clear header at goal.

I was too frightened to take note of who it was at this stage but whoever it was she did England proud with a mild effort which Brown grabbed easily.

Suddenly there was the chance to make absolutely sure at the other end. Bouhaddi produced an awful touch from a routine backpass and Aluko was on the scene in an instant. Having knocked the ball clear of the keeper the striker, running slightly away from goal, could only roll her shot against the base of the post.

This reminded me so much of Ian Wright in Italy in 1997 that I half expected the French to go up the other end and fashion a great chance for Christian Vieri but the heart stopping moments were over for the night and the referees' whistle finally meant the Engalnd squad could celebrate an achievement they have worked so hard for over the past year.

It was genuinely uplifting watching this group of players enjoying the fruits of their labour.

They have dominated this group from the outset, produced a lot of good football along the way and played for each other every step of the way.

They will now receive some attention from the media, maybe only next year when the finals take place but they will get some, and they thoroughly deserve their place in the spotlight.

While it seems at the moment extremely unlikely that England have any realistic hope of actually winning the World Cup I am confident that this team will provide stiff opposition for anyone they come up against.

This is still a developing team and getting to the finals' will help their progress immeasurably. It will also help boost the profile of the sport in this country.

This was an incredibly important result in so many ways and all credit is due to the players and the manager for making this happen.

England: R.Brown 7, A.Scott 9, R. Unitt 7 (C.Stoney 6), K.Chapman 7, A.Asante 10, M.Philip 8, K.Carney 7, F.Williams 8, E.Aluko 7, K.Smith 7, R.Yankey 7 (S.Smith 5).

Percy Piranhafish is always reminding me that the first rule of defending is to stay on your feet. He must have loved Asante's performance.

This was textbook defending. Asante looked a complete defender here tonight; dominant in the air, quick across the ground and always there when danger threatened. Her body strength removed danger all night long when players looked to run beyond her, never committing herself unnecessarily, just standing big and strong and seeing out the danger.

Her composure in the heat of battle and in front of a partisan crowd was also admirable.

In the event Faye White was not missed at all and I can't give higher praise than that.

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France Ladies 1 England Ladies 1 : 30/09/2006