Youngsters set for U17 carnival

The second UEFA European Under-17 Championship begins on Wednesday with eight nations grappling for one of youth football's most-prized trophies.

Eleven-day festival
The next eleven days will see 144 players taking part in 16 games at seven different venues in Portugal, culminating in the final on Saturday 17 May in Viseu at 18.30CET. Taking past pedigree and geographical factors into account a final between hosts Portugal and neighbours Spain - youth football's two European powerhouses - looks likely. However, last season Switzerland shocked the whole continent to lift the U17 crown, so nothing should be taken for granted this time around.

Three newcomers
Five of the eight qualifiers participated in the 16-team final tournament last season, with Austria, Israel and Italy being this season's newcomers. The only sides to qualify with maximum points from their second round mini-tournaments were Spain and England.

Holders absent
Of the competing sides only Spain, Portugal and Italy have previously lifted the trophy, formerly known as the UEFA European Under-16 Championship. Holders Switzerland will not be in Portugal to defend their crown, having finished behind Hungary in Group 5 in the second qualifying round.

Smaller countries take heart
On paper the Portuguese and Spaniards, as well as the Italians and the English, are the four favourites to lift the trophy. However, Austria, Hungary, Israel and Denmark will take heart from the example set by the Swiss last season and are all capable of winning the tournament according to the host nation's coach, António Violante.

'Hard competition'
"This will be a very hard competition," Violante told uefa.com. "I think all eight teams can win. We are playing at home and we have the right to dream - everything is possible." The Portuguese have been aided by a kind draw which has placed them in Group A - which appears to be the easier of the two qualifying sections - alongside Denmark, Austria and Hungary.

Fiendish group
Group B - which contains Spain, Italy, England and Israel - looks fiendishly difficult. At first glance Israel appear to be clear outsiders in this section, but in qualifying they accounted for the Netherlands, Poland and Romania so they cannot be written off. "We know that we have three very difficult games, but now we are at this stage, we will have to beat the best teams at some stage if we are to progress," said England coach John Peacock.

Further prize
As well as European supremacy, the two U17 finalists also know that a place in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship, which will be staged in Finland between 13 and 30 August, is also on offer. But above all, win or lose, the overriding aim of the next week and a half will be to see the young players from each of the eight competing countries acquire new skills, new friends and valuable experience to take into their budding careers.