“We were unlucky in the draw. Tough matches await us. We will try to prepare better during training camps so that we can represent our country with dignity.”
These words were said by the head coach of the Azerbaijan U-17 women's national football team, Nargiz Gurbanova, in an interview with AZERTAC, while evaluating the draw for the first stage of the European Championship, reports Idman.biz.
The coach spoke about the current state of the team, which is placed in Group 1 of League B, and their chances in the tournament:
“Players born in 2008 have already left the team. This year, we will compete with players born in 2009–2010. We have placed our hopes in these girls. Since it's a new age group, I’ll be able to determine the team’s condition after the training camp. Wales and Kosovo competed in Group A last year. Unfortunately, they ended up in the same group as us this time. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be able to do anything against these teams.
If we had to make a choice between them, I’d say both are favorites. But I would especially highlight Wales. I haven’t analyzed the playing styles of these two teams, but looking at the overall results, it appears that Wales is stronger than Kosovo. Of course, after analyzing their games, I’ll be able to give more accurate information.
As for our team, new girls from the current age group will be joining. Regarding Moldova, we can say this team is familiar to us. We’ve played against them in previous tournaments. In our last match, we won 4–1. But that doesn’t mean we should underestimate them. As I said, since the age group changes every year, it’s difficult to talk about the current state of our opponents.”
It should be noted that the matches will be held this autumn. The host country and exact dates of the tournament are not yet known.
Idman.biz
