Portugal look for finals return

Last season Portugal missed the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals for the first time - having finished third and first in the previous two editions. Starting Sunday they stage Elite round Group 2, taking on Hungary, Ukraine and Sweden for a place in Luxembourg.

Mixed form
Portugal progressed past the qualifying round in Coimbra with a game to spare, defeating San Marino 5-0 and the Faroe Islands 4-0. But they then lost 2-0 to Germany, and their mixed form continued in last month's Algarve Cup. The hosts followed a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands by succumbing 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland and 3-1 against France. They had previously drawn two friendlies with Italy.

Sporting duo
Still, Portugal always have plenty of talent at this level. Captain and playmaker Adrien Silva and Sporting Clube de Portugal team-mate Jorge Abreu, who has 22 U17 caps, are important players, as is Chelsea FC right-winger Fábio Ferreira.

Hungary confident
The Portuguese campaign begins against Hungary, who are in confident mood after two good results against Romania. In the opener József Both's side won 3-0 with goals from Ádám Dudás, András Simon and Márk Nikházi and the second game two days later finished scoreless - as did both their February matches in Israel. Hungary had eased through their qualifying round by beating Albania, Cyprus and Scotland.

Koman fit
There was further good news for Both with UC Sampdoria's attacking midfielder Vladimir Koman fit after injury. Leading striker Krisztián Nemeth, meanwhile, is on song after opening his top-flight account for MTK Hungária FC. Both said: "Although the spine of the squad has been settled, I have given chances to a few new players because I wanted to see other talents knocking on our door, and it's good for Hungarian football in the long term that we have more players with experience."

Ukraine draws
Ukraine, under 38-year-old coach Vadim Dyord, start against Sweden, and draws have been the order of the day in recent friendlies. On 18 Feburary, Denis Vasin and Yuri Konshin secured a 2-2 scoreline in Moldova. Two days later Olexandr Nazarchuk struck in a 1-1 draw with Romania, then Ukraine played out two stalemates against Bulgaria. In the qualifying round they recovered from losing 2-1 to the Republic of Ireland to hold Italy 2-2 and overcome Latvia 1-0 - though they had to wait several weeks before being confirmed as the best third-placed team.

Well prepared
The well-prepared Dyord said: "We have a detailed plan for each training session up until the tournament kicks off. I have seen two Portugal matches live. I don't know much about Sweden and Hungary, as the tapes can't give you the full picture of the standard of a team."

'Tough opponents'
Sweden coach Jörgen Lennartsson, meanwhile, is taking nothing for granted. "It won't be easy," said Lennartsson, whose side drew with Iceland and beat the Czech Republic and Andorra to make their U17 Elite round debut. "We have three tough opponents, with Portugal perhaps being slight favourites. We lost two games against Germany in February but despite our losses, it was a very good experience for the players. Hopefully we can build on that in this tournament."

Chelsea target
Central midfielders Albin Ekdahl and Kevin Walker could be key for Sweden. Ekdahl of IF Brommapojkarna even turned down an offer from Chelsea in January. "I wanted to stay home for a little longer," he said. "I'm in no hurry and I believe I can develop well at Brommapojkarna." Captain Andreas Landgren impressed against Germany and the Helsingborgs IF defender is highly-rated.