Women's U17 EURO: Group B preview
Monday, May 1, 2017
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Norway are rematched with the Netherlands from qualifying while familiar opponents England and the Republic of Ireland also meet in their opener: introducing the Group B teams.
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England
Best performance: semi-finals 2007/08, 2013/14, 2015/16
Qualifying round: Lithuania 14-0, Slovenia 0-1, Russia 1-0 (Group 8 winners)
Elite round: Poland 2-0, Germany 2-1, Italy 0-0 (Group 3 winners)
Top scorer: Lauren Hemp 5
John Griffiths, coach: "What is important is that there are really good teams here. We played Germany in the elite round, it was tough. Ireland, Norway, Germany, Spain – we have played a lot of these teams recently. And when we play teams like Scotland, Wales or in this case Ireland, it is always a good game. This is always about learning lessons. We never compromise winning the game for the education of the players. I think it is important we qualify regularly for the final tournament. The priority is to educate them for the senior team."
Netherlands
Best performance: semi-finals 2009/10
Qualifying round: Bulgaria 11-0, Moldova 13-0, Norway 0-2 (Group 4 runners-up)
Elite round: Slovenia 3-0, Switzerland 1-1, Austria 2-1 (Group 1 winners)
Top scorer: Joëlle Smits 10
Marleen Wissink, coach: "We are among the last eight. The groups are good, all the teams are strong. It will be a great tournament. I think the conditions are here for a great tournament. All eight teams are experienced and strong, so we will see how the tournament goes. All three group games will be very competitive. We have to stay focused and of course we want to progress, the further the better."
Norway
Best performance: semi-finals 2008/09, 2015/16
Qualifying round: Moldova 6-0, Bulgaria 4-0, Netherlands 2-0 (Group 4 winners)
Elite round: Wales 8-1, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1, Denmark 6-1 (Group 2 winners)
Top scorer: Jenny Olsen 6
Børje Sørensen, coach: "We have very strong teams in our group. In my opinion all the teams here are really strong teams – maybe in different ways, some different cultures, but it makes it more interesting. Our ambitions are to reach the semi-finals and to give our girls some fantastic days, of course to use later in their development. There are so many aspects and so many things to manage and this will be a great experience to look back on."
Republic of Ireland
Best performance: runners-up 2009/10
Qualifying round: Faroe Islands 6-0, Belarus 2-0, Iceland 4-1 (Group 10 winners)
Elite round: Serbia 1-0, Scotland 0-0, Hungary 1-0 (Group 4 winners)
Top scorers: Carla McManus 5
David Bell, coach: "Our ambition is to be the best we can be, but you never know how the tournament develops. It is always on the day of the match. We always take it as a learning experience. If we can go any further, it will be a nice bonus. It is a nice game to start with, playing England. These games are always special and we will enjoy it!"