Turkey aim to be at best for France

The last time the host nation reached the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final, France lifted the trophy in 2004. Now Les Mini-Bleus are attempting to prevent Turkey matching that achievement when they meet in the first semi-final at the Mardan Sport Complex on Tuesday evening.

Injury woes
Turkey, who succeeded France as champions in 2005, topped Group A after defeating the Netherlands and Scotland before a 0-0 draw with Serbia, while Francis Smerecki's side were pipped to the Group B summit by Spain on goal difference. However Turkey coach Şenol Ustaömer says his team, who lost key players to injury before the finals and have had the likes of striker Muhammed Demir and left-winger Eren Albayrak only partly fit, have not truly hit their stride. "We have achieved the results we were hoping to achieve, but are not reaching the standards we wanted because we have many players carrying injuries," Ustaömer told uefa.com. "But we are very happy with the situation we are in."

Familiar opponents
Ustaömer has been preparing his squad for more than two years for these finals, and their friendly programme took in several meetings with France, most recently in December when each team won once in a two-game series. "I know their team, I have seen all three of their games here and we have all the information we need," Ustaömer said. "I think they are the best team in this tournament, but I believe we have the potential to play up to their level and achieve our main goal of reaching the final."

Terim support
Senior national coach Fatih Terim took time out from a training camp in the region to watch the U17s against Serbia on Saturday, and Ustaömer said: "We were very happy he came to our most recent game and I hope the whole squad will be there on Tuesday." However, he does have five players, to France's six, one booking from a suspension.

Important experience
Smerecki nonetheless believes his players will not be able to hold back if they want their tournament to continue after Tuesday night. "Our physical state will be the decisive factor," the France coach said. "If we use all our strength, our chances of victory will increase. I want to add that before the final tournament, I didn't even think about the semi-finals. Anyway, the [3-3 draw] against Spain was like a semi-final, that was such an important experience for us." France led three times in that game, but by letting those advantages slip ended up behind Spain and in this tough semi-final. "It will be difficult for us to play against the hosts," Smerecki said. "I am analysing Turkey once again."

• Turkey players one booking from suspension: Emre Çolak, Erhan Karayer, Abdülkadir Kayalı, Berk Neziroğluları, Gökhan Töre

• France players one booking from suspension: Gueida Fofana, Gaël Kakuta, Loïc Nego, Enzo Reale, William Remy, Yannis Salibur