Following Tuesday’s opening group games, all eight teams competing in the Women’s U17 Euros enjoyed a day off on Wednesday.
They will take to the pitch again later this afternoon in what is generally referred to as ‘matchday minus one training’, to prepare for the next round of matches tomorrow.
Every team will train for an hour here at St. George’s Park – and for most it will simply be a case of fine-tuning a few tactical elements, as England’s Head Coach Lois Fidler explained after the Italy game.
Ahead of their homework session yesterday, the Young Lions were able to unwind for a while by building Lego footballs in the Futsal hall and they posed in front of a specially designed Lego replica of the national football centre.
And birthday girl Mollie Rouse (15) was presented with a cake by representatives of ‘Lego Friends’, one of the tournament sponsors.
They may only have one football session today, but the teams on Group B (Scotland, Germany, France and Spain) will be kept busy by two different UEFA briefings, on Anti-Doping and Match-Fixing Prevention – as is commonplace in youth tournaments.
There will also be an organisational meeting for UEFA staff and the team liaison officers where they will run through tomorrow’s order of play.
Friday's fixtures
Group A
England v Austria, 7pm, Chesterfield FC
Italy v Portugal, 12.30pm, Hinckley Stadium
Group B
Germany v France, 12.30pm, AFC Telford United
Scotland v Spain, 7pm, Burton Albion FC
