Qualification for the European Team Championships final stage is the aim for a new-look England women’s team in Croatia this weekend.
Alongside mainstay Tin-Tin Ho and her Commonwealth Games team-mate Emily Bolton, there are debuts at this level for Jasmin Wong and Mari Baldwin – though the latter has represented England seniors at the Home Nations International.
The face Israel on Friday afternoon, Netherlands on Friday evening and Bulgaria on Saturday afternoon, with a top-two finish in the group of four teams being enough to qualify for the Championships in Malmo, Sweden, in September.
The event will be live streamed on ETTU.TV – click here to watch.
A third-place finish would see England face one further play-off match, with the winner also getting through to Malmo.
Ho believes there is cause for optimism as the team heads out to Croatia.
She said: “We have a chance to beat all of the other teams but we’ll have to see on the day – our goal is to qualify and hopefully in the top two.
“I’ve had a lot of competitions lately and I’ve been training a lot, so hopefully that will help me for the qualifiers. We also had a camp recently with Mari and Jasmin – so hopefully we are all ready.
“We all know each other well and we’ll work well as a team and have a good team spirit. I’ll try to make everyone feel comfortable and part of the team. Hopefully it’s not too daunting for them and they will enjoy it.”