France

France won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, beating Spain 2-1 thanks to a late Samir Nasri goal in front of a then competition record 13,000 crowd in Chateauroux. Indeed, they seldom get to this stage without having a team capable of lifting the trophy, finishing runners-up for the second time in 2008. They are in their fourth straight finals, finishing as best runners-up and qualifying thanks to Liechtenstein's withdrawal.

Qualifying round: Slovenia 3-1, Estonia 3-1, Ukraine 1-1 (Group 7 winners)

Elite round: Turkey 0-1, Norway 1-0, Wales 4-0 (Group 5 runners-up)

Key players
Yaya Sanogo (striker, AJ Auxerre), Abdoulaye Doucouré (midfielder, Stade Rennais FC), Lucas Digne (defender, LOSC Lille Métropole), Bilel Omrani (forward, Olympique de Marseille)

Coach: Guy Ferrier

Date of Birth: 6 December 1951
Nationality: French
Playing career: FC Orléans, RC Paris, Arago Orléans, USM Malakoff
Coaching career: France U16/U17/U19

Guy Ferrier split his player career between Paris, his native city, and Orleans, where he was a professional midfielder for the local second division club. He ended his career in 1981 after three seasons as a player-coach at Orléans.

A former youth international, Ferrier entered the French Football Federation staff in 1981 as technical adviser in the Orleans area. He remained for 21 years before joining the national youth team staff in 2002 and became a national coach in 2005.

Team records

Qualifying top scorer
Bilel Omrani: 4

UEFA European Under-17 Championship best
Winners: 2004
Runners-up: 2002, 2008

Honours in UEFA youth competitions
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winners: 2005
UEFA European Under-18 Championship
Winners: 1983, 1996, 1997, 2000
UEFA European Under-16 Championship
Runners-up: 1996, 2001
International Youth Tournament (U18)
Winners: 1949
Runners-up: 1950, 1968

Other honours:
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winners: 2001