Futsal EURO preview: Group B

UEFA European Futsal Championship Group B will conclude on 23 January with a rematch of the 2003 final, with Italy hoping to repeat their victory against Ukraine in Caserta seven years ago. In that competition, Ukraine opened with a 7-2 win against Belgium, who have qualified for the first time since and open the Debrecen-based group against Italy on Tuesday. uefa.com previews the section.

ITALY
Alessandro Nuccorini ended his 12-year reign as coach at the start of 2009, having masterminded the 2003 triumph as well as the runs to the 2007 European Championship and 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup finals. However, the Azzurri remain a potent force under Roberto Menichelli and did not lose in 13 matches last year. Although some familiar names from the past are gone, new names like Baptistella and Gabriel Lima, plus the returning Luca Ippoliti, have been combining superbly with the more established Marcio Forte and Vinicius Bacaro. They have never failed to reach the semi-finals and it would be a surprise if they did not do so again, at least.

Best performance: 2003 winners

Qualifying: Georgia 10-1, Belarus 3-0, Lithuania 6-0 (Group 4 winners)

Key players: Alexandre Feller (goalkeeper), Baptistella, Luca Ippoliti, Marcio Forte

Roberto Menichelli, coach: "These are the best squads in the continent; you have to be careful in every game."

BELGIUM
A country with a long history in futsal, Belgium qualified for the first two UEFA final tournaments in 1996 and 1999 but this is their first appearance since 2003, when they departed with one point. They were in fine form in qualifying, notably beating Serbia 4-3, and respected coach Benny Meurs has put together a talented multicultural squad, though home losses to both Serbia and Russia in December's Hasselt Tournament have shown the size of their task in a difficult group.

Best performance: 1996 third place

Qualifying: FYR Macedonia 6-0, Greece 4-1, Serbia 4-3 (Group 6 winners)

Key players: Karim Bachar, Karim Chaibai

Benny Meurs, coach: "It has taken six or seven years' hard work, but we are improving all the time."

UKRAINE
Under long-serving coach Gennadiy Lysenchuk, Ukraine became a world-class force in the last decade, finishing as European runners-up in 2001 and 2003. Three years ago a transitional squad were eliminated in the group stage but they certainly have the semi-finals in their sights if they get off to a good start against Belgium on 21 January.

Best performance: 2001 & 2003 runners-up

Qualifying: Andorra 4-2, Netherlands 4-1, Romania 2-2 (Group 1 winners)

Key players: Serhiy Cheporniuk, Valeri Zamyatin, Valeri Legchanov

Gennadiy Lysenchuk, coach: "Two years ago, we played the worst futsal in our history. We want to play the way we did in 2001 and 2003."

For full results of all friendlies played by the finalists since qualifying, click here.