Anticipation high in tight group

The four coaches in UEFA European Under-17 Championship Group B agree that Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Serbia and Montenegro are well-matched as they begin their fixtures on Wednesday.

Fine record
Germany have won all their games this season, save for an Elite round draw against the Netherlands, and are favoured by many to go far. Their coach Bernd Stöber is thinking about more than just results, though, as they open against Belgium in Ettelbruck.

Preparation
"We had not qualified for four years and it's good to be back," he said. "Qualifying is very difficult. It demands technical quality, but also mental qualities. In this tournament results are important, but so too development. I want my players to get used to a professional way of behaving during these events. It's what awaits them if they want to be professionals."

Belgian objective
Belgium coach Eric Abrams has been working with his squad for nearly three years, and the reward is a first finals appearance since the competition became an U17 event in 2002. "We are proud to be among the eight best," he said. "We took over this squad two and a half years ago, with this tournament in Luxembourg as our objective. Lots of people will come to see us from Belgium, these games will be exciting."

Defeat not fatal
He added: "I think our group is very equal, every team can beat the other, even though Germany are favourites. I would have preferred to start against Serbia and Montenegro, because we know them well, along with Czech Republic. We don't know Germany very well, we have no tapes of them. This first game is important, it's important not to lose. I've nevertheless told my players that it wouldn't be that bad if we lost the first game. The Czechs lost their first match in the Elite round but they are still at this championship."

Concentration
That point is not lost on Czech Republic coach Jakub Dovalil, whose side indeed recovered from curtain-raising defeats in both qualifying rounds, going on to eliminate holders Turkey and 2004 champions France in the Elite round. He said: "It is a difficult group and they are difficult games, especially the first, as we did not win our opening tie in the previous rounds. We must concentrate and give everything. If you win you are OK, if you draw you are OK, if you lose you are not OK!"

Quartet out
Defender Lukáš Vácha serves a one-match ban for the Czechs' Dudelange encounter with Serbia and Montenegro, who were also beaten in their Elite round opener against Israel before qualifying with a 3-0 victory against home team the Republic of Ireland. However, two of the side that won in Dublin, Sasa Blagojević and Igor Miladinović, are suspended on Wednesday while two defenders have not travelled. Ivan Tatomirović is injured and the highly-touted Slobodan Rajković is playing for OFK Beograd in the next week's Serbo-Montenegrin Cup final.

Serbo-Montenegrin quality
Serbia and Montenegro coach Sasa Medin said: "Our group is tough. It will certainly not be easy to get through. But we know we have quality and a talented generation who will be great players in future years. We hope these matches will be important for their development, and it is important for our country to be here as for many years we were out of Europe. Nobody knows who is going to win, but I think the Czechs are favourites - having knocked out Turkey and France. We know their quality but we know how to play against them."