Marley names Euros squad
Thursday, 09 July, 2009
Women's U19s squad is selected for battle in Belarus.
UEFA European Women's U19 Championship
The Finals
Minsk, Belarus
13-25 July 2009
Mo Marley has finalised her 18-woman squad for the UEFA European U19 Championship in Belarus this month.
Marley's England side are set to take on Sweden, Norway and Iceland in Group B of the Championship, while Switzerland, France, Germany and the hosts will do battle in Group A.
The top four teams in the tournament will automatically qualify for the U19 World Cup in 2010 (if this group of nations includes Germany it will increase to the top five teams as the Germans are hosting next summer’s event). First, however, England must negotiate their Group games and the England Coach knows it will not be an easy route.
"People can argue that we haven’t been drawn in the same group as Germany and France, but there are two strong groups there," said Marley. "The three teams we have to play will be very, very tough for different reasons.
"Norway and Sweden have been two of the top Women’s teams over the years, at all age levels, and the success of their Senior teams has obviously filtered down to their youth set-up, so they’ll no doubt be looking to go as far as possible in this tournament.
"I actually took my Pro Licence with Iceland’s manager and he‘s very professional in his outlook and has some fantastic footballing philosophies. Iceland are one of Women’s football’s emerging countries, so I expect them to be very well organised and difficult to beat," she continued.
England's first game is against Sweden on Monday 13 July, in Minsk.
The Squad
| Ashley Baker |
University of Georgia |
| Rebecca Spencer |
Arsenal LFC |
| Gemma Bonner |
Leeds Carnegie |
| Lucy Bronze |
Sunderland AFC Ladies |
| Gilly Flaherty |
Arsenal LFC |
| Kerys Harrop |
Birmingham City LFC |
| Stephanie Marsh* |
Everton LFC |
| Chelsea Weston |
Doncaster Rovers Belles LFC |
| Remi Allen |
Leicester City LFC |
| Isobel Christiansen |
Everton LFC |
| Laura Coombs |
Arsenal LFC |
| Michelle Hinnigan |
Everton LFC |
| Jessica Holbrook |
Everton LFC |
| Jordan Nobbs |
Sunderland AFC Ladies |
| Abbie Prosser |
Arsenal LFC |
| Toni Duggan |
Everton LFC |
| Jade Moore |
Leeds Carnegie |
| Demi Stoke |
Sunderland AFC Ladies |
* Replaced by Lauren Bruton (Arsenal)
