Aberdeen Women co-manager Emma Hunter believes that playing for Scotland is a vital chance for her players to test themselves against the best.
The Dons will have five players away, the most of any SWPL 1 club, with Scotland U19s this week as they begin their League A UEFA European Championship campaign.
Jess Broadrick, Millie Urquhart, Eva Thomson, Mya Christie and Annalisa McCann have all been named in the squad for the upcoming three games.
They’re not the only Dons who are involved with Scotland as Maddison Finnie and Brodie Greenwood both represented the U17s national team in Hungary last week.
Scotland U19s play Spain, who are the current European and world champions at this age group, in Edinburgh this evening, before hosting Finland and Switzerland.
And Hunter believes the youngsters’ involvement in those games will be a “massive” opportunity for them to test themselves on the world stage.
She said: “It’s massive and it’s the sort of teams that we want them to be playing against. The girls will only benefit from playing against the top sides in Europe.
“We’re really proud of what Aberdeen has managed to achieve with the Scotland set-up. We’ve got five away with the U19s, and last week we had two away with the U17s.
“Maddie (Finnie) and Brodie (Greenwood) both captained the U17s and Jess (Broadrick) is the U19s captain – so it shows that we’re doing it right up here.
“We’ve got a lot of young players who can hopefully go and stake their claim with Scotland and get these experiences at the highest international level.
“European football isn’t an option for us as a club right now, so international football gives them that chance to come up against some of the best young players in the world.
“It’ll help them when they come back to us at Aberdeen, especially against some of the top teams in the league. It’s a great opportunity for them.”
National team opportunities reflect first team chance
Of the five players who will be away with Scotland U19s this week, three of them are just in their first full season with Aberdeen’s first team.
And Hunter believes that Urquhart, Christie and McCann’s inclusion in the Scotland squad shows Aberdeen’s long-term commitment to developing young players.
Over the past year, the Dons have had 10 different players called up to Scotland U19 training camps, friendlies or competitive matches.
Hunter added: “At Aberdeen, we have no fear of playing these players. They come in and are not squad players – we want to get them in the starting line-up.
“Making sure we develop those young players is part of our plan and long-term strategy here at the club, and we want to give them opportunities on the pitch.
“I think that’s why a lot of our players have featured for the U19s and U17s, because the national team coaches want them to be playing at the highest level regularly.
“They want them to play at a top level and I’m sure they would be reconsidering their Scotland squads if players were sitting on the bench every week.”
Scotland reaching World-Cup would have ‘ripple’ effect
Scotland’s senior team host Austria at Hampden tomorrow evening as they look to reach the 2023 World Cup via the play-offs.
If Pedro Martinez Losa’s side beat Austria in the play-off semi-final, they will then play the Republic of Ireland in the final at Hampden on October 11.
Hunter has backed Scotland to get to their second World Cup, which she reckons would have a major impact on the future of the women’s domestic game.
"This group are going to give everything on the pitch, and give everything to qualify Scotland for the World Cup."@PedroMLosa looks ahead to next week's @FIFAWWC qualifiers, as he names his squad and asks for your support at @HampdenPark 💪#SWNT pic.twitter.com/uDrkzD4JBc
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 28, 2022
The Dons co-boss said: “Austria are a really tough team at every age level. I remember from my time with the U17s and U19s that they’re always really well organised.
“It’ll be really tough, but I do think Scotland can do it, and hopefully they can emulate the success that the men’s team had last week.
“The difference with Scotland now is we have a national team which is full of players who are playing full-time at a professional level in SWPL 1, WSL or abroad.
“I hope they get to the World Cup because it’ll have a ripple effect on everything that we’re doing here and in the league, too. It will give young girls something to aspire to.”
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