Julia Schalin is aiming for two sports this summer. In football, girls under the age of 17 in Finland will start the European Championship finals on Tuesday, and in June Schalin will aim for a place in the World Championships for girls under the age of 18 in the United States.
STT Sports,
Mika Halonen,
Timo Uusitalo
European Football Championships for U17 Football Girls
Espoo resident Julia Schalin, 16, is a sports promise and a master of two different sports. He has been with the Little Pearls since last Friday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Finland will start the European Football Championship tomorrow Tuesday.
Schalin had previously won the hockey women’s league championship in the role of striker in the ranks of Kiekko-Espoo in April. However, there was no time left for the party.
– I didn’t have time to celebrate the championship when I went straight to the Kuortane hockey U18 national team camp the very next day of the finals.
In the middle of the final series of Kiekko-Espoo, Schalin also had time to pop in at the camp of the girls’ national football team. Because of that, the role in the hockey finals was a bit so and so at times. In the decisive puck final, however, Schalin was given responsibility.
Schalin plays football at club level in Honka, but at the start of the season, the National League was a little behind on hockey games.
– There weren’t many games yet, but we trained really well in the winter. My time is spent pretty much on football and hockey.
Schalin, who plays as a pier and midfielder in football, considers his literacy, dueling and endurance to be his strengths.
Hurry doesn’t hurt when you enjoy doing
Schalin has not yet experienced playing in the two main series as too much of a contract. Of course, life and sports require planning.
– There are trainings about ten times a week. However, you need to plan one day off each week when there is no sport, Schalin said.
He is studying at the sports-focused Haukilahti High School in Espoo. Teachers understand absences due to sports, and Schalin is studying independently for the final school term in the spring.
“It’s been a pretty busy spring, but I enjoy doing what I like,” Schalin said.
The goal is to enter the World Cup in football
The Little Beads will start the European Championships against France, continue next Friday with a match against Spain and finish the week in the start of the week in the start of the game in Norway.
Spain and France, especially the big sports countries, are tough, but so is Finland, which has advanced from the qualifiers to the top seven on the continent. The host country won the venue without qualifying.
– Our goal is to reach the top two in the block, which would take us to the semi-finals at the same time. The top three European countries will win a place in the World Cup in India next autumn. The World Cup venue is our goal, says Schalin.
The final teams of the European Championships will automatically advance to the World Cup finals in India in October. The losers of the semi-finals will play in the qualifying place for the World Cup place. Finland played in the 2018 Girls Under 17 World Championships in Uruguay.
– We’re a real fighting football gang. It was also seen in the important game in Ireland, where we came from behind at the end. There are a lot of different players on the team, and there are plenty of options for each venue. There is skill, too, adds Schalin.
His goal is to become a sports professional in due course, and for football, the European Championships are a great venue.
– This tournament could open gates elsewhere, Schalin said.