Underdog fight for Borisov finalists

Their coaches may have ended the pre-final press conference negotiating a possible trophy-sharing deal, but when Sweden and England meet in Borisov only one will return to tournament headquarters on Prospekt Pobeditelei (Winners' Avenue) befitting that name.

Surprise packages
Much of the talk before the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship kicked off a fortnight ago centred around who, if anybody, could halt Germany's waltz to the final. Sweden coach Calle Barrling alone uttered England and, since opening their account with a 3-0 victory over Sweden, Mo Marley's charges have emerged as the team to beat, cementing their newly-bequeathed favourites' tag with an impressive demolition of Germany's vanquishers Switzerland in the last four. "We are the underdogs," Barrling stressed, adding: "I'm overwhelmed – we're playing a final. We're a bit surprised sitting here but this team have improved more than I could have hoped. I thought we might compete next year but…."

'Extra step' 
Sweden's opponents arrived with similarly muted aspirations, Marley having built the team almost from scratch following England's involvement at the FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women's World Cups last November. "We didn't give ourselves high hopes at the start of the tournament. We didn't even get out of the group stages last year so we've surpassed all expectations," said Marley, whose team – like Sweden – are chasing their first U19 title though the Swedes won the U18 version in 1999. "It's a massive achievement. We've been here before [losing in extra time to Germany two years ago] and the question now is can we make that step up? As a country as a whole we have often been there or thereabouts in semi-finals and finals but we haven't gone that extra step."

'We've improved'
England have made supreme progress in Belarus. The only team not to lose in a largely wide-open tournament, they have scored ten unanswered goals to extend their run of clean sheets to eight games in all competitions, ten in this one including qualifying. Sweden, by contrast, have shipped seven, including two in the 5-2 extra-time win against France last time out. "Don't remind me," said Barrling, whose side took the best runners-up berth to reach these finals. "I don't count the first three, no offence to England. Hopefully we'll keep a clean sheet in the last game. We made a slow start to the tournament and can do better than we did last time against England. We've improved."

England fire 
As have England, yet captain Michelle Hinnigan is taking nothing for granted, warning against complacency and urging her team-mates to play "with fire in our bellies". That fortitude has been a real aspect of England's play, something they have in common with Sweden, says Marley, "that little bit extra spirit and quality". When the tournament photographer asked the coaches if they were willing to touch the trophy – "Yes, we're willing," Barrling joked – that spirit of sharing re-emerged as the pair speculated about possibly going halves, six months in Sweden, six in England. The last word went to Marley, however. "Whoever is brightest, sharpest and shows the most resilience and quality will be the team to pick up the trophy."