Tight group too close to call

By Paolo Menicucci in Tirrenia

The representatives of UEFA European Under-17 Championship Group B sides Israel, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Croatia agree that any of the teams could make the semi-finals.

'Good opportunity'
However, after eliminating the losing finalists from the last two editions, Spain, Switzerland are considered among the favourites to repeat their 2002 success. "The finals are a very good opportunity for us after our special achievement in Elite round Group 1 when we eliminated Spain," said Switzerland coach Yves Débonnaire at his eve-of-tournament press conference.

Higher standards
He continued: "UEFA and FIFA do a terrific job with youth football around the world so I'm not surprised that many strong teams did not manage to qualify for the finals because the competition is very tough. Our goal is to reach the final but we also know there is a life after the tournament. I think that watching the progress of our young players in such an important competition is even more important than the final outcome."

Israeli progress
Switzerland's opening game is against Israel in Cascina. Zeev Zeltzer, here assisting Israel coach Avraham Bahar as part of his wider role in youth football in his country, says his side are moving on all the time.

'Balanced group'
Zeltzer said: "We are playing the finals for the second time in three years. The first time, in Portugal, was not a success but we learnt many things from that experience and I think we have improved since. We know our rivals in the group and they are all very strong. I think it's a very balanced group but we hope to progress."

'Happy to be here'
The Netherlands reached the finals after a dramatic qualifying victory against Germany - the Czech Republic and Latvia having also formed their Elite round opposition. "We feel like we have already won one big tournament and now we are starting another one. We are very happy to be here," said coach Ruud Kaiser.

Gaining experience
"We want to finish among the top three and qualify for the [FIFA U-17] World Championship," he continued. "If we manage to do that, we will have the chance to play more games at international level. It is a fantastic experience for the players and the more often they play at this level, the better it is for them."

Kaiser warning
Kaiser, without the banned Ruud Vormer, believes any team could go through from Group B, saying: "I think our group is wide open. We defeated Switzerland 4-2 recently but we know they were missing four key players against us. We also played against Israel and beat them 3-2 but it was not an easy game at all and I think they have improved since."

'Pleased and honoured'
Croatia, who take on the Dutch in San Giuliano Terme, have defender Tomislav Kristic and midfielder Davor Spehar suspended, but are not hiding their ambition. Nevertheless, their chief delegate Enzo Zohil spoke modestly when he said: "Croatia is a small country of just four and a half million inhabitants and we are very pleased and honoured to have the chance of facing the best sides in Europe.

Unpredictable pool
"It is a great tournament and we are proud to be involved, especially as some of the most famous teams did not manage to qualify. I don't think the respective strength of these sides mirrors that of their senior counterparts, so there is a big question mark over which countries will progress from this group."