abby
By Paul Saffer
Many players would be delighted to feature in one major final tournament during their careers. Teenage forwards Eniola Aluko and Karen Carney are about to experience their second of the summer.
Hungary trip
Having starred for England on home soil at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, both are now in Hungary for the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship. And even though they are still young enough to be eligible for next year's U19 finals, they know their exploits in June make them the 'senior' members of the squad.
'Good experience'
Carney, 18 the day after the final on 31 July, said her side's group stage exit at last month's EURO was the "worst feeling ever". But she continued: "Looking back it was a really good experience. It is probably one of the best things I've done so far."
'Extremely difficult'
Aluko, already 18, concurred. "Obviously I enjoyed the experience of playing such a high-pressure tournament, which could effectively change my life and that of the rest of the squad," she said, even if she had the added pressure of important school exams during the championship. "Looking back it was extremely difficult. I could never rest after training, sometimes you need that time. My mind was always in overdrive, and doing an exam on the day of a match was impossible. But education has to be a priority."
Exam pressure
Carney, who is also a student, said: "I said to my mum that it's the first camp I've been to in six months where I haven't needed my schoolbag!" Both players have been resting since EURO while the rest of the U19 squad went to Tunisia, beating a select team 3-0 then losing the next game on penalties.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WUnder1...sId=317083.html
Many players would be delighted to feature in one major final tournament during their careers. Teenage forwards Eniola Aluko and Karen Carney are about to experience their second of the summer.
Hungary trip
Having starred for England on home soil at UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™, both are now in Hungary for the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship. And even though they are still young enough to be eligible for next year's U19 finals, they know their exploits in June make them the 'senior' members of the squad.
'Good experience'
Carney, 18 the day after the final on 31 July, said her side's group stage exit at last month's EURO was the "worst feeling ever". But she continued: "Looking back it was a really good experience. It is probably one of the best things I've done so far."
'Extremely difficult'
Aluko, already 18, concurred. "Obviously I enjoyed the experience of playing such a high-pressure tournament, which could effectively change my life and that of the rest of the squad," she said, even if she had the added pressure of important school exams during the championship. "Looking back it was extremely difficult. I could never rest after training, sometimes you need that time. My mind was always in overdrive, and doing an exam on the day of a match was impossible. But education has to be a priority."
Exam pressure
Carney, who is also a student, said: "I said to my mum that it's the first camp I've been to in six months where I haven't needed my schoolbag!" Both players have been resting since EURO while the rest of the U19 squad went to Tunisia, beating a select team 3-0 then losing the next game on penalties.
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WUnder1...sId=317083.html