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Ceri Holland served as captain for her national team for the first time while Marie Höbinger , Niamh Fahey, and Fuka Nagano all started for their respective national teams.
Quite a few members of the Liverpool FC Women’s team were involved in international action on Friday. Seven players dressed for their national teams, while one other was left off the squad as a precaution.
The headliner of the group was Ceri Holland, who was handed the captains armband for Wales for the first time ever in her career as they took on Croatia. Prior the the match, Holland spoke about what it meant to lead her team out on the pitch.
“It was very unexpected to be told I’d be captain for this game. It’ll be one of the biggest standout moments in my career to lead out this team and to lead out these girls. This team is full of captains, on the day, it’s about coming together as a team.”
Wales dominated Croatia in a 3-0 win in Euro qualification group match play. The Dragons sit atop Group 4 of League B with 13 points from 5 matches.
Elsewhere in League B group play Jenna Clark was named to the bench for Scotland as they took on Slovakia. Clark ended the match as an unused substitute in a 2-0 win for the Scots.
Four Liverpool players were involved in Euro League A qualification group play. Marie Höbinger started for Austria as they defeated Poland 3-1. Niamh Fahey started in defense for Ireland as they dropped a 2-1 decision to England. Fahey conceded the penalty that was slotted home for what would become the winning goal for the English. Leanne Kiernan came on a as a substitute for Ireland at the start of the second half. Scouser Missy Bo Kearns was not included in England’s Euro qualification squad after being a part of the qualification preparations.
Meanwhile, Sophie Roman-Haug came on for Norway in the 72nd minute. Norway had a 1-0 lead at the time, but former Liverpool player Emma Koivisto scored a dramatic equalizer for Finland in the 98th minute to earn a draw.
Two Liverpool players are part of national teams who are completing final preparations for the Paris Olympics. Fuka Nagano started and played the full 90 minutes for Japan as they won 4-0 over Ghana. Teagan Micah was left out of the Australia squad as a precaution when they played Canada. Micah has been working her way back from an ankle injury suffered at the end of the WSL season. She has been training, but it was decided not to take a risk with the opening match of the Olympics less than two weeks away.
