Germany hoping to outgun Norway in women's final

World champions Germany enter their fourth successive European final on Sunday favourites to win as many consecutive titles and hoping a resurgent Norway have run out of steam.

Germany, five-time winners since the competition began in 1984, have outclassed most they have met at the UEFA Women's European championship and overcame Norway 1-0 at the group stage.

Norway, the only European team to win continental, world and Olympic titles, may have spent their last energies in Thursday's gruelling semi-final against Sweden and will have to find a winning knack not seen in major finals since 2000 to triumph.

The Germans have won all their matches, averaging three goals a game and conceding only one, in their 4-1 semi-final drubbing of Finland.

"I wanted us to go the whole tournament without letting one in," German coach Tina Theune-Mayer said. "Those things happen."

Germany possess a potent attack in world player of the year Birgit Prinz, along with Conny Pohlers and Inka Grings, who have scored three goals apiece, and young Anja Mittag.

Prinz can be so overpowering she has sometimes resembled an adult playing in a school match. Norway will do well to contain a player finding her best form late in the competition.

If they can keep Germany out, they then have to pierce the tournament's tightest defence.

FEARLESS HERLOVSEN

But Norway have a player who might cause an upset in 16-year-old Isabell Herlovsen.

Herlovsen kept Norway in the tournament with her first international goal against France, helped in a 5-3 defeat of Italy and scored in their 3-2 semi-final thriller against Sweden.

Coach Bjarne Berntsen will hope her fearlessness remains and the team can recover from the strain of that extra-time semi-final victory.

"We only have two days of rest to prepare to play the best team in the world," Berntsen said. "Although we will not use tiredness as an excuse."

In Bente Nordby, Norway have one of the competition's best goalkeepers and midfielder Solveig Gulbrandsen has also been inspirational.

Her brace against Sweden led her team to conquer marauding opponents through patient counter-attacking.

But taming the marauding opposition on Sunday could prove harder for a team looking to rekindle past glories against a side victorious in all but one of the European tournaments they have contested.