England expects U17 progress

Quiet optimism
England coach John Peacock is confident his side can progress to the final tournament in France in May as they prepare to play host to a mini-tournament in Sheffield and Doncaster between 24 and 28 March, but warns against underestimating the opposition.

'Strong opposition'
"Armenia, Iceland and Norway all qualified from some tough first-round groups and will provide us with some strong opposition," Peacock told the English FA's official website. "We will naturally treat each team with the respect they deserve, but gaining qualification would provide an excellent platform for our talented youngsters to pit their wits against international opposition."

Shoot-out setback
England finished second in a recent friendly tournament in the Algarve, remaining unbeaten, and Peacock is confident that his side – who reached the semi-finals of last year's finals only to lose on penalties to Portugal and then suffer a 1-0 defeat by Austria in the third/fourth-placed play-off – will make their class count.

'Fascinating encounters'
"Our performances against France, Portugal and Finland in the Algarve proved that the players can live with some excellent opponents," said the England coach. "This tournament should provide some fascinating encounters for the supporters, as well as a chance to see some of the potential England stars of the future."

Resounding win
Norway, in particular, will offer stern opposition, having also reached this stage a year ago and sealed their second qualifying round berth this time round with a crushing 8-0 victory against San Marino to clinch second place in Group 3.

Scoring success
Defender Jesper Aleksander Mathisen scored a hat-trick in that game, with Magnus Ask Mikkelsen and Vegard Braaten finding the net twice each, and midfield player Bjarne Ingebretsen collecting three goals in total in the three group games.

Skjelbred the star
Øivind Nilsen's side are certainly well-prepared, having won a junior tournament in Ålesund in January. The squad also spent a week in Spain at the La Manga training complex in mid-February and will be looking to midfield player Per Ciljan Skjelbred – already part of perennial Norwegian champions Rosenborg BK's first-team squad at the age of 17 – for inspiration.

Narrow failure
Iceland finished second in Group 10 behind Russia, remaining unbeaten, and coach Lúkas Kostic is confident his players have progressed from the side that lost to both England and Norway in 2003.

'Group development'
"The players are much more relaxed and balanced [now]," Kostic said. "The group has developed very much and know now what to expect so I am optimistic - after all one must be optimistic in football! We are going to learn a lot and then enjoy the games and I have faith in the boys."

Magic Manucharyan
Armenia, meanwhile, have the potential to spring a surprise having finished top of Group 7 in the first qualifying round above Serbia and Montenegro, the Netherlands and Bulgaria. The team's star man is undoubtedly FC Pyunik striker Edgar Manucharyan, who struck five times in qualifying, including all of his side's goals in a 4-1 win against Bulgaria.

2003/04 UEFA European Under-17 Championship second round mini-tournament groups and dates: