England Women Under-19s learned their Euro qualifying fate last week and boss Mo Marley is already planning their preparations.
The Young Lionesses were drawn out to face Czech Republic, Denmark and group hosts Turkey in the elite qualifying round in April at the draw in Nyon.
And Marley is wasting no time in getting her prospective squad of players together, as due to the team’s co-efficient ranking they received a bye straight to this stage of the competition, with the eventual group winners progressing to next summer’s Euro finals in Northern Ireland.
UEFA European U19 Women's Championship
Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Turkey (hosts)Elite Qualifying Round
Dates TBC, April 2017
“After winning the co-efficient tournament in September, there is more pressure on us as a team, as people are expecting us to win,” said Marley.
“But it’s nice pressure to have and it’s a good position to be in. The team will definitely feel confident after those last matches.
“That said, because of our co-efficient ranking we missed the first phase of games so while other teams are coming together and gelling, we won’t play until April.
“That’s why these next training camps are so important. We have a five-day camp at St. George’s Park where we’ll begin on work.
“We’ll be involving a number of players who have recently played in the U17s World Cup and look to continue their development.
“We’ll also be arranging some friendlies ahead of the games to help get us in the best position possible come April.”
Marley is also anticipating some fierce competition in the qualifiers, with Denmark offering strong opposition and Turkey and Czech Republic among those emerging nations in women’s football.
“Denmark are a good team who we know a lot about, we’ve played them pretty regularly and on the way to Wales, the last time we qualified,” she explained.
“They have a strong tradition, are always there or thereabouts and we’re expecting a tough challenge.
“Czech Republic are a bit of a surprise package but they drew with Switzerland and topped their group so they’ll certainly be capable of doing something in the group.
“Turkey are another team who are capable of a result and the gap between all the teams in Europe is definitely narrowing.”
