The exclusion of Russian football teams from major international competitions has been depressing many fans for more than two years now. But there are teams in our football that not only participate in UEFA development tournaments, but also win them brilliantly.

“The first serious test in the national team”

Our country’s junior teams retained the opportunity to compete in UEFA development tournaments. The latest one started on September 17 in Minsk. Four teams of girls under 15 competed in the capital of Belarus for five days. The Russians were joined by the hosts, as well as teams from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

— Based on the analysis of the girls’ training camp and performances for the clubs, we have formed a team that will go to Minsk. Naturally, we set ourselves the task of winning, for the girls this is the first serious test in the national team. But we also want football to be lively, emotional and bring pleasure to the girls themselves, at this age this is doubly important, — the official website of the RFU quotes the words of the team’s head coach Elena Medved.

The team played its first match against Uzbek girls, who were completely unprepared to fight on equal terms with our football players. Nine unanswered goals flew into the Asian team’s goal. Only Ekaterina Vasechkina from Krasnodar scored a double. Another seven athletes scored one goal each.

Photo: © Russian Women’s National Football Team

“We want to develop our players”

In the next game, Russia had to test the hosts. The start was equal. It seemed that the opponents would impose a fight on our team: by the 9th minute, the teams had already exchanged goals. But the girls from Belarus did not last long. Another alumnus of the “bulls” academy, Alina Godyna, demonstrated an extraordinary goal-scoring instinct for a midfielder, scoring a hat-trick. The match ended with a score of 5:1

Two wins in two matches allowed the Russian girls to win the title one round before the end of the tournament. At the same time, the coaching staff did not rely on specific players. All the football players were involved in these matches.

“In both matches, all our players were on the field. Not only because of the tournament regulations, but also because we want to develop our players. In the third match, we will also try to surprise,” Medved noted after the game with the Belarusians.

On September 22, the Russians had only to put a fat point. Their opponents were the girls from Azerbaijan, who had lost in the two previous matches. The result of the game was logical. Our footballers left no stone unturned from their opponents – 9:0. Evgeniya Trishina from Spartak scored a hat-trick.

In three matches, our girls scored a total of 23 goals against their opponents, conceding only one. It is after such tournaments that hope for a bright future for Russian football is born. Now the main thing is to properly develop talented girls, bringing them to the adult level.