Scotland

Scotland will be looking to improve on their only previous finals appearance, having lost all three of their games – conceding five goals and scoring none – at the 2008 tournament in Turkey. Qualification this time around looked a long way off when they went 1-0 down in their elite round opener against Belgium, but they bounced back and racked up a 3-1 win, which acted as the perfect springboard for what proved to be an unblemished campaign.

Scotland deployed a 4-3-3 formation for much of qualifying, relying heavily on Greg Kiltie – who has since been ruled out of the finals through injury – and Aidan Nesbitt, two forwards who can play on either wing or through the middle behind a central striker. Craig Wighton, a quick striker with good movement and a keen eye for goal, also has a big part to play in attack. He found the net four times in qualifying. At the other end of the field, captain Jack Breslin has shown himself to be a commanding defender who is particularly strong in the air.

Qualifying round: Slovenia 3-1, Wales 0-0, Hungary 2-1 (Group 4 winners)

Elite round: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0, Belgium 3-1, Romania 1-0 (Group 6 winners)

Key players
Robby McCrorie (goalkeeper, Rangers FC), Craig Wighton (forward, Dundee FC), Aidan Nesbitt (forward, Celtic FC)

Coach: Scot Gemmill

Date of Birth: 2 January 1971
Nationality: Scottish
Playing career: Nottingham Forest FC, Everton FC, Preston North End FC, Leicester City FC, Oxford United FC, New Zealand Knights FC
Coaching career: Oxford United (player-coach), New Zealand Knights (player-coach), Scotland U16s, U17s, U19s, U21s (assistant), Scotland U17s

Gemmill is a former Scottish international midfielder who won 26 caps and scored one goal for his country. He spent most of his career in England at top-flight clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Everton, rounding off his playing days with New Zealand Knights. He is the son of former Scotland midfielder Archie Gemmill, who led Scotland to the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final, where they lost 2-1 to Spain, as well as the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Team records

Qualifying top scorer
Craig Wighton: 4

UEFA European Under-17 Championship best
Group stage: 2008

Honours in UEFA youth competitions
UEFA European Under-18 Championship
Winners: 1982