Women’s U17 team started Round 2 with a loss
Today, on March 8, the Estonian women’s U17 team played their first match in Round 2 of the qualifying tournament, when they faced Poland. Although the team had to accept the 2-0 advantage of a strong opponent, the Estonian girls gave a good fight.
Both goals of the match were scored in the opening half, when Anna Gliszczynska scored in both the 18th and 45th minute. Gliszczynska, who plays as a striker in the Polish national team, also scored against Estonia last September, when they met in friendly matches held in Tallinn. “We were pretty well in the game from the beginning to the end,” said the team’s head coach Aleksandra Ševoldajeva, “and although the opponent scored two goals in the opening half, these situations were preventable and under our control. There were situations where the opponent outplayed us. At the same time, we also played some situations into our own hands: we couldn’t find the best places in the formation, we were vulnerable and the opponent was able to switch to counterattacks very well,” explained Ševoldajeva.
Estonia and Poland also met twice in September 2022, and Ševoldajeva was more satisfied with today’s game than last year’s. “Although we scored a goal in an earlier game, we were definitely more dangerous in today’s game. We were positively surprised – it was definitely our best game this year. The defensive line worked well today, we were able to successfully clear balls and go into contact. Of course, there is a lot of room for improvement, but we expected the players’ form to be even worse, especially since we could only do one training session before the game. In the training before the match, we therefore had to give a lot of information, but the players took it all and played well,” Ševoldajeva praised the players’ performance.
“We have to become even more dangerous: get more behind the opponent and win balls in moments of pressure in the defensive phase,” Ševoldaeva revealed the areas that need work. “There is a slight lack of good contact between the defenders and the attackers. We went into several duels successfully, but often the opponent was able to keep their body stronger and keep the ball, and this is where we have to be better.”
Today’s performance of the team gave the head coach confidence for the future games of the tournament, where they will face peers from the Czech Republic and Romania. “As I mentioned earlier, one of the goals of this tournament is to get game practice and polish the team game, but after today’s game I dare to say that the goal of earning at least one point should be within our ability,” Ševoldajeva said.
Another match will be held in the tournament today, when Romania and the Czech Republic will meet at 16:00 Estonian time. Estonia will play its next match on March 11 at 11:00 a.m. against the Czech Republic, and the tournament will end in a match against Romania on March 14 at 4:00 p.m. It is also possible to watch the match with Romania, the host of the tournament, via live video.
Seven teams will be determined in Round 2 of the European Championship qualifying tournament, which, in addition to Estonia, will compete in the European Championship final tournament in Tallinn, Tartu and Võru in May. The winners of the groups of the A league will secure their spot at the final tournament. In the event that Estonia wins its group, the best runner-up from the A league will enter the final tournament.