Gonfalone backs France to reach U17 finals

If France wish to extend their run of UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifications they must top elite round Group 6 on home soil against Georgia, Norway and Belarus, three opponents in mixed form.

France
Les Mini-Bleus are aiming to reach their fifth straight final tournament – having made at least the semi-finals three times since 2007 – and coach Patrick Gonfalone is confident that "this generation is filled with quality and can go all the way in either the European Championship or the [FIFA U-17] World Cup". The squad, captained by Raphaël Calvet, regrouped in late February, beating AJ Auxerre's youth team 4-3 before losing 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain FC's selection. Abdallah Yaisien, recently signed by PSG, has scored in all France's competitive games this season and is the player to watch.

Qualifying round: Slovenia 1-0, Cyprus 1-1, Italy 1-2 (Group 9 runners-up)

Key players: Quentin Beunardeau (goalkeeper, Le Mans FC), Raphaël Calvet (defender, AJ Auxerre), Abdallah Yaisien (midfielder, Paris Saint-Germain FC)

Georgia
Georgia gave themselves a tough friendly test following the qualifying round by taking on Spain – they lost 2-1 then drew 0-0. Their goal was scored by Bachana Arabuli, who has been given trials by FC Dynamo Kyiv and Manchester City FC. "The matches against Spain gave the players experience," said coach Koba Zhorzhikashvili, who led Georgia to the 2002 quarter-finals. "Although we will play a very strong France team our aim is to qualify." Forward Bachana Arabuli is out injured.

Qualifying round: Poland 2-1, England 1-1, Sweden 1-0 (Group 3 runners-up)

Key players: Nika Tarkashvili (forward, KFC Germinal Beerschot), Lucas Hufnagel (midfielder, FC Bayern München), Nika Sandokhadze (defender, FC Dinamo Tbilisi)

Belarus
Despite a competition-record 12-0 defeat of Liechtenstein in the qualifying round, preparations have hardly been promising for Belarus. As hosts of the annual youth tournament in Minsk they drew 1-1 against Lithuania and 0-0 with Finland before losing 3-2 to Belgium and then being beaten 6-1 by Ukraine for fifth place. Valiantsin Mikheyeu's side have subsequently fallen 3-1 and 6-4 to Turkey and 3-0 twice against Hungary, yet the coach remains optimistic. "I am happy we have enough information on our opponents," he said. "We will try to achieve the best possible results. There is no sense in participating otherwise."

Qualifying round: Liechtenstein 12-0, Kazakhstan 6-2, Romania 0-2 (Group 6 runners-up)

Key players: Pavel Savitski (forward, FC Neman Grodno), Yauhen Bialiauski (midfielder, FC Minsk), Ilya Zatenko (forward, FC Gomel)

Norway
Like Belarus, Norway have not impressed in their elite round build-up. At La Manga last month, Øyvind Nilsen's team lost 5-1 to Denmark and 2-1 against Belgium before a 0-0 draw with Poland. Then, in friendlies with Greece, a Veton Berisha double salvaged a 2-2 draw before a 1-0 reverse. "These two games were a good test before our important qualifiers," Nilsen said. "I feel the team are ready, but they need to be more consistent." While none of the squad have made senior breakthroughs, two certainly have the pedigree: Berisha's brother Valon plays for Viking FK and Mohammed Elyounoussi's cousin Tarik represents Fredrikstad FK.

Qualifying round: Albania 2-0, Malta 3-0, Republic of Ireland 1-0 (Group 4 winners)

Key players: Veton Berisha (forward, Viking FK), Ole Kristian Selnæs (midfielder, Rosenborg BK), Kamer Qaka (midfielder, Vålerenga Fotball)

Reporters: Christian Châtelet, Vakhtang Bzikadze, Denis Orlov & Eivind Aarre