An under-15 boys’ team defeated the Swiss women’s football team 7-1 in June 2025. The game was intended to remain confidential and was played behind closed doors.
But after the outcome was disclosed, there was a backlash. Additionally, this is not the first time that something similar has occurred. When Wrexham defeated the USWNT 12-0 in a mini-tournament in 2023, the women’s game was once again widely derided.
So why do people play these games? In 2022, an explanation was provided following Arsenal’s women’s 5-0 loss against the team’s under-15 boys’ team.
Despite criticism, women play on men’s youth teams.
Having an advantage over rival women’s teams can be achieved by playing in the appropriate age group.
According to a Times story, the 5-0 loss that was leaked was used as an excuse to disparage women’s football. Nevertheless, despite any outside criticism, Arsenal saw the game as a chance to strengthen their women’s team.
“Biologically, a team of boys aged 14 to 16 are thought to provide the ideal test for a women’s team because, although they are often quicker and stronger, they are not at the insurmountable level of a senior men’s side,” noted journalist Molly Hudson.
Although the boys typically possess physical advantages, this drives the women to adjust and enhance their placement, technical skills, and speed of mind. In order to make playing against other women’s teams appear easy in contrast, Hudson noted that the Gunners wanted to play against men’s young teams more frequently.
According to former Arsenal women’s manager Jonas Eidevall:
“The majority of football teams worldwide would do anything to take advantage of this incredible opportunity: to see if we can make practice more difficult than the games.
This implies that we will undoubtedly succeed in sports if we are effective in training. It will be a little simpler and we will have a little more time. Players under the ages of 15 or 16 are typically in a suitable age range where their physicality hasn’t increased much. Although they are a bit quicker than our players, they are nonetheless playable.
The following intriguing statement was made in the article: “The club, however, believe that the severe defeat may be the first step to the women’s team winning the Champions League.”
Three years later, Arsenal women shocked everyone by defeating Barcelona 1-0 in the final to win the 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League, fulfilling that prophecy.
The Final Result is Irrelevant
“It was about testing our game principles”
The program has been in place for a while, and it is rumoured that top women’s teams like Chelsea, the US, and Barcelona place its academy girls in boys’ competitions until they are 14.
Hudson continued: “The typical pattern is that women frequently lose the opening matches because to the guys’ greater speed and toughness. They eventually defeat their male opponents, though, after playing against them more frequently and learning to bridge the gap.
Following Switzerland’s recent loss, Leila Wandeler echoed this perspective by describing how the game was perfect practice for the women’s Euro 2025:
“The outcome was irrelevant. It was about putting our gaming principles to the test for us. Training sessions wear you out. But for this European Championship, we all want to be in top form. I believe it’s a good thing because of this.
The women’s national team’s head of communications, Sven Micosse, also supported the practice. “Playing against junior teams is not unusual in women’s football,” he stated. The intention is to introduce a certain sense of competition.
“The physical component is the main focus at this stage of preparation. In terms of distance and intensity, these training matches are extremely similar to our international contests, regardless of the outcome.
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