Big guns meet in Næstved

Germany come face-to-face with France on Sunday as both sides look to book their place in the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Coughed and spluttered
France coughed and spluttered their way into the last eight with a win, a draw, and a defeat in their three Group B matches, while Germany bounced back from an opening-day draw to collect maximum points from their two remaining fixtures.

Unpredictable form
France's form has been unpredictable to say the least but they are in the quarter-finals and hoping to improve for what should be a titanic encounter. After a convincing 2-0 win against one of the tornament favourites, Portugal, in their opening match, France then drew with a resilient Ukraine side before losing 2-1 against eventual group winners Switzerland on Thursday. Had results not gone their way that day, the defeat would have eliminated them. Ukraine, who needed to win with a two-goal cushion, lost against Portugal allowing France to slip into the quarter-finals via the back door.

Folly to return?
Coach Luc Rabat's troops travel to Næstved knowing that they will have to be at their very best if they are to emulate last year's achievement of reaching the final (where they lost 1-0 to Spain). The form of midfield players Yohann Folly and Guillaume Plessis is key, with Folly set to return to the starting eleven after only being used as a late substitute in the match against the Swiss. Rabat will also be sweating over the fitness of Stade Rennais FC striker Jimmy Briand, who injured a calf in the stalemate with Ukraine.

Group winners
Germany only really got their tournament going in the second round of Group D matches. Having been held to a 1-1 draw by Georgia in Slagelse, Jörg Daniel's side then beat Hungay 6-2 and finished as winners courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Poland. While they may not have hit top gear just yet, Germany will be hoping to go one better than last year, when they lost to England at the quarter-final stage of the U-16 competition.

Bork the architect
Midfield player Stephan Bork has been the architect of much of his country's good work in the tournament thus far and he, along with strikers Sebastian Westerhoff and Mario Gomez, will be key figures if Germany are to progress.

'Athletic and well organised'
Daniel was upbeat ahead of Sunday's encounter and is relishing the prospect of facing France. "They will present a different kind of opposition to what we have faced, and to what we would have faced against Switzerland. The Swiss are tough and physical, the French more athletic and defensively very well organised. Of course, you can't choose your opposition, but I think France might suit us better. On the other hand, they might be so fired up after their defeat that they could be a big threat."