U17 standards are rising

There is much for everyone to learn at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, including for coaches. Smoothing that process are two experienced trainers, Hungary's Dr György Mezey and Wim Koevermans of the Netherlands, who are acting as technical observers to help prepare the UEFA Technical Report.

Two to watch
"We go into the teams, look at how they play, how the tournament goes," Koevermans told uefa.com. "This is done for any tournament, even the UEFA Champions League. We watch both groups, do diagrams of their formations, highlight the better players." And unsurprisingly, he picks out the two group winners as the ones to watch ahead of Thursday's semi-finals. "Spain have shown they are the strongest team in the tournament with Germany, with good individual players. It is the final everybody wants to see. They want the ball, they want to put pressure on their opponents. And they are nice to watch."

Clinical Germans
Spanish duo Bojan Krkić and Aarón Ñíguez have especially impressed Koevermans, who also saw Germany pip a Netherlands side he helps coach to the finals. "The biggest difference is goalscoring ability," Koevermans said. "They have a very well-balanced team, strong defenders who like to come up, not just the full-backs but the central defenders, which you do not see too often any more. In midfield the Bender twins attack but fight back for the ball and Toni Kroos is more of a playmaker. Up front [Marko] Marin is good at holding the ball and dribbling, and [Manuel] Fischer is a real striker, he is really good in the box or running off the ball. Even their substitutes are of a high standard."

Tall Czechs
He has also seen much to praise in the other Group B contenders. "The Czech Republic have very tall players and use quick balls looking for strikers and good crosses. Serbia and Montenegro are very skilful as well, very adventurous players, but they struggled against the Germans. Belgium had to start against the Germans and were a bit overwhelmed by the TV and the crowds. We don't always consider these factors as coaches. But they have a nice team, they are very tight and very fast on the counter."

Unlucky Hungary
As for Group A: "Hungary and Russia are usually difficult to beat, they are good in defence and counterattack, and you saw that in this tournament. Hungary were a bit unlucky to lose to Russia as they created chances, but it is about scoring goals and not conceding. Germany and Spain have a few players that can score, and that's the difference." However, Hungary's Krisztián Németh, Vladimir Koman and Ádám Dudás are among Koevermans's favourite players at the finals.

Luxembourg development
The hosts lost all their matches, but were not disgraced. "Luxembourg had very young players, they have only a small pool of players," Koevermans said. "But in the second game against Hungary they played much better, they were not so nervous. The difference in quality is there and they know that, but it is good for them to play at the top level. It would be good for some players to go to France, Belgium or Germany."

Experience
Koevermans is also quick to acclaim the youth tournament concept itself. "Throughout the years the standard is rising because everybody wants to be here. Players experience things they will not experience in domestic competitions. You play different cultures, different styles of player. I go to a game and sit next to a player on the plane and he says, 'I have never flown before', so they have experiences they have never had."