Dublin rivals 'well matched'

The Republic of Ireland meet Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and 2005 qualifiers Israel in UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round Group 6 which kicks off tonight in Dublin, and home manager Sean McCaffrey is in no doubt that all four teams will compete strongly to qualify for a place in the finals in Luxembourg.

'Well matched'
"I've seen them all," McCaffrey told uefa.com. "Romania are a good side. They play very deep and try to catch you on the break. Israel are a big, strong physical team. Very well coached, very well organised. And Serbia and Montenegro are a very strong side, so the teams are well matched."

Home advantage
Last year Ireland were pipped to the finals by England, but this time they have home advantage. McCaffrey said: "It's far more familiar, we've played at these grounds before. When you have to travel for any match you're at a disadvantage as there's an amount of stress involved."

Fine season
It has been a fine season for Ireland, starting with winning the Nordic Cup in Iceland in August in which they defeated England in the final. In the qualifying round in Kiev in September they overcame Ukraine and Latvia and held Italy, then in the Algarve Cup in late February, Ireland lost to France but beat Portugal and the Netherlands. However, there is a concern. "We have a few major injuries at the moment," McCaffrey said. "Captain Lorcan Fitzgerald is very doubtful, our leading scorer Terry Dixon looks doubtful, and [midfielder] Donal McDermott is very doubtful."

Close group
Their first opponents are Romania, aiming to qualify for a first youth tournament since 2001. Coach Marian Bucurescu said: "Everything depends not only on how good the players are, but also how well they play in the matches." Romania's squad, who have spent a total of two months together this season, have won four and drawn two of their ten friendlies.

Jianu excels
Last week they met Slovakia twice, each team winning one game 2-0. In the qualifying round Romania lost 1-0 to holders Turkey, drew 0-0 against Croatia and then Marius Jianu scored all four in the 4-0 victory versus F.Y.R. Macedonia. Other important players are attackers Razvan Rivis and Gabriel Torje and defender Alexandru Iacob.

Medin optimistic
Serbia and Montenegro, who start against Israel, have a full-strength squad, ten of the 18 from FK Partizan. Sasa Medin's team warmed up with two games against Bulgaria, winning 4-1 away and 3-0 at home. "That proves my optimism," the coach said. "We were very good. But I know that friendly matches are one thing and competitive games another."

'Not afraid'
Like Ireland, they topped their qualifying group, beating Northern Ireland, Lithuania and Malta. Medin added: "We have a desire and ability to finish top. But I know that all the other opponents are the same. It's good that we will play our last match against the home team, every time that's something special."

Israel in form
Israel began qualifying in free-scoring style, defeating Azerbaijan 5-1 and Armenia 7-2 before losing to Russia when already assured of progress. In January they beat Cyprus 4-1 and 4-2, and then drew 0-0 twice with Hungary. Striker Ben Sahar has been in rich goalscoring form.

Injury concerns
Veteran coach Avraham Bahar said: "Our captain Liad Elmaleach and Victor Mare are doubtful, but this is always part of the game. This is not an easy group but we are trying to do what we do each year. The first match against Serbia and Montenegro is the key."

Additional reporting by Paul-Daniel Zaharia, Aleksandar Bošković & Ofer Ronen-Abels