Greece get set for home challenge
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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Greece have never played in a UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals but they hope to put that right on home soil from Thursday against injury-hit Poland, Slovenia and 2002 champions Switzerland.
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Greece have never played in a UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals but they hope to put that right on home soil from Thursday in Elite round Group 1, the last of the mini-tournaments to commence. Challenging them are injury-hit Poland, Slovenia and 2002 champions Switzerland.
GREECE
Greece coach Giorgos Semertzidis has overseen a useful season andafter two warm-ups against club opposition, losing 1-0 to third division Makedonikos FC and holding fourth-tier side AS Anagenissi Epanomis 1-1, he is pleased to welcome back the two squad members with Super League experience, Olympiacos CFP central defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Ergotelis FC striker Nikos Karelis. "With their addition, our squad will be full, strong and ready for the Elite round," Semertzidis said. "We have to do our best in order to qualify, because at this stage of the competition, all opponents are strong. It's an advantage for us, though, to be playing our matches at home."
Qualifying round: Andorra 4-0, Luxembourg 0-0, Republic of Ireland 1-0 (Group 5 winners)
Key players: Kyriakos Papadopoulos (defender, Olympiacos CFP), Mihalis Tsamourlidis (midfielder, AEK Athens FC), Nikos Karelis (forward, Ergotelis FC)
POLAND
Poland did not concede a goal in the qualifying round but are without three defenders this week. FC Schalke 04's Kamil Wałdoch has stayed in Germany for personal reasons while Filip Modelski and Arkadiusz Mróz are injured, as is midfielder Mateusz Kolouszek. Coach Dariusz Wójtowicz told uefa.com: "We have a big problem as our defence has totally broken down. Wałdoch, Modelski and Mróz can not play and we must build again from scratch. But we remain optimistic. We play in this second round against Slovenia, Switzerland and Greece. I respect these teams but they are weaker than Spain, Portugal or Germany. So, I think we have the right to say we will fight for the first place as only the winners go to the finals in Germany. Anything can happen. Every team from our group can finish top or bottom."
Qualifying round: Montenegro 1-0, Bulgaria 1-0, Azerbaijan 2-0 (Group 8 winners)
Key players: Michał Jonczyk (striker, Płomień Jerzmanowice), Sebastian Leszczak (striker, Wisła Kraków), Mateusz Olszak (midfielder, Wisła Puławy)
SLOVENIA
After finishing second in a qualifying group containing Turkey, Russia and Malta, Slovenia coach Borut Jarc is looking forward to the challenge posed by the Elite round. "I know the players from this generation will do everything to play in a European championships at least once in their career and this is their first chance," Jarc said. "The task will be difficult as we will have to face three strong opponents, but I know my players will give their maximum."
Qualifying round: Turkey 3-4, Russia 1-0, Malta 1-0 (Group 12 runners-up)
Key players: Haris Vučkić (forward, Newcastle United FC), Rok Medved (midfielder, NK Aluminij), Emir Ljubijankić (forward, NK Domžale), Uroš Palibrk (forward, AC Milan), Ažbe Jug (goalkeeper, NK Maribor)
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland, among the finalists last season, have played three tough warm-up games so far this year in preparation for the trip to Greece. They followed up a convincing 3-0 win against Russia with a 2-0 victory over Sweden, but lost to the same side by an identical scoreline just two days later. Coach Dany Ryser said: "In our group I expect some very tight matches, in which small details will determine who will qualify. It is our goal to play on a high level for those three games. If we manage to do so, qualification for the next round is possible and contrary to the situation in the first qualifying round, we have a full-strength squad at the moment."
Qualifying round: Iceland 2-1, Norway 0-0, Ukraine 0-0 (Group 7 runners-up)
Key players: Fréderic Veseli (defender, Manchester City FC), Kofi Nimeley (midfielder, FC Basel 1893), Nassim Ben Khalifa (forward, Grasshopper-Club)
By Vassiliki Papantonopoulou, Piotr Kozmiński, Martin Pavčnik & Steffen Potter
