Diamantakos vows to lead Greece onward

This evening Greece will attempt to get their UEFA European Under-17 Championship campaign back on track against an England side tipped by many as tournament favourites. Captain Dimitrios Diamantakos knows his inspirational role will be crucial.

The Olympiacos FC striker leads from the front. He scored seven of Greece's ten qualifying goals, including the two late finishes against Finland that booked an U17 finals debut in dramatic style, then on Tuesday against Turkey he converted a penalty to give his side hope in an eventual 3-1 loss.

England won the other Group B opener by the same scoreline against the Czech Republic, and Diamantakos aims to lead a similar fightback to that which booked their place in Liechtenstein. "We know nothing is over yet and we know we can do better and make the semi-finals," Diamantakos told UEFA.com. "We've watched England on DVD, they are a very good team but we don't fear them."

As captain, Diamantakos relishes the responsibility the office gives him in situations like these. "It is definitely an honour. I do my best to help the team because of that," he said. "I make sure I keep the team's spirits up, and try to motivate them, and do that too by scoring goals. I tell them that we are a very good team, there is no need to be afraid – we are as good as the other teams and deserve to be here."

That despite the opening defeat by Turkey. "We didn't have a good start, hopefully now we will improve," Diamantakos said. "We didn't have a good first half. We improved in the second half but we didn't have the luck. I don't think Turkey were a better team, it just wasn't our day."

Diamantakos, whose role model is Zlatan Ibrahimović – "I can only hope to be able to do half the things he does, he is the complete forward" – signed a three-season professional contract with Olympiacos on his 16th birthday last year, and benefits from advice from a player who helped Spain to European U16 bronze in 1998, Raúl Bravo. "He tells me that I have a good future, as long as I continue to work," Diamantakos said.

He also learns from playing under a former Greek international – the team's coach Leonidas Vokolos. Diamantakos said: "He's a great teacher for us. We learn a lot from him. He's given us a lot a technical advice we hadn't had before, things we always remember. And it is a motivation for us to succeed for him."