Under-17 finals start in Serbia

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship kicks off in Serbia on Tuesday with England defending the title they won 12 months ago in Liechtenstein.

It has been a rainy couple of days in Serbia but that has not watered down enthusiasm for the first UEFA final tournament staged by the nation. Particularly after the dry ice was let loose at the tournament's Novi Sad base in the welcome ceremony on Saturday evening, while big crowds are expected due to free admission.

Both the hosts and the holders are in Group A, Serbia starting against Denmark in Novi Sad while England take on France in Indjija. Over in Group B, Germany will hope to repeat their 2009 final victory against the Netherlands in Smeredervo while finals debutants Romania play the Czech Republic in Belgrade. Games continue on Friday and Monday with the top two in each group progressing to the semi-finals on 12 May at Novi Sad's Karadjordje Stadium, which also stages the decider three days later.

All the games at Novi Sad and Smederevo will be shown on Eurosport, starting with Serbia versus Denmark and Germany against the Netherlands. The top three in both groups will also compete at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico from 18 June to 10 July, though Switzerland's elimination in the elite round means they will not defend the title they won two years ago in Nigeria. Also unusually absent are two-time champions Spain, beaten by England in a rematch of last year's final.

UEFA.com will have full coverage of the finals direct from Serbia, with previews, live scores in our MatchCentre, reports, reaction and in-depth interviews. Our dedicated U17 section also has full profiles of the teams, a venue guide, tournament stats and history. In the run-up to the finals we heard from the likes of Serbia senior coach Vladimir Petrović, U17 alumnus Adem Ljajić and UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh on his memories of stars from tournaments past including Iker Casillas.

The contenders:

Group A (Novi Sad/Indjija)
Serbia (hosts)
Qualified automatically
Best performance: quarter-finals 2002 (as Yugoslavia), eight-team final tournament 2006 (as Serbia and Montenegro), 2008
Players to watch: Lazar Marković (midfielder/forward, FK Partizan), Dejan Meleg (midfielder, FK Vojvodina)

Denmark
Elite round Group 3 winners
Best performance: quarter-finals 2002, eight-team final tournament 2003
Players to watch: Viktor Fischer (forward, FC Midtjylland), Lucas Andersen (midfielder, Aalborg BK), Frederik Holst (defender, Brøndby IF), Kenneth Zohore (forward, FC København)

England (holders)
Group 5 winners
Best performance: winners 2010
Players to watch: Nathaniel Chalobah (defender, Chelsea FC), Hallam Hope (forward, Everton FC), Raheem Sterling (midfielder, Liverpool FC)

France
Group 6 winners
Best performance: winners 2004
Players to watch: Quentin Beunardeau (goalkeeper, Le Mans FC), Sébastien Haller (forward, AJ Auxerre), Raphaël Calvet (defender, AJ Auxerre), Abdallah Yaisien (forward, Paris Saint-Germain FC)

Group B (Smederevo/Belgrade)
Netherlands
Group 2 winners
Best performance: runners-up 2005, 2009
Players to watch: Memphis Depay (midfielder, PSV Eindhoven), Anass Achahbar (forward, Feyenoord), Kyle Ebecilio (defender, Arsenal FC)

Germany
Group 4 winners
Best performance: winners 2009
Players to watch: Samed Yesil (forward, Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Emre Can (midfielder, FC Bayern München), Levent Aycicek (midfielder, VfL Wolfsburg)

Czech Republic
Group 1 winners
Best performance: runners-up 2006
Players to watch: Lukáš Stratil (midfielder, FC Baník Ostrava), Luboš Adamec (defender, Juventus)

Romania
Group 7 winners
Best performance: first qualification
Players to watch: Bogdan Ţiru (forward, Viitorul Constanţa), Claudiu Bumba (defender, FC Maramures Baia Mare), Darius Buia (midfielder, LPS Banatul Timişoara), Fabian Himcinschi (forward, Unirea Alba Iulia), Laurenţiu Brănescu (goalkeeper, Juventus)