Trochowski's final target

Germany's Piotr Trochowski has won much praise at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

'Sensational performance'
His coach Ulrich Stielike described his performance in Germany's opening game, a 3-3 draw against England, as "sensational". Rested from the starting lineup for the following game against the Republic of Ireland, the FC Bayern München man came on as a second-half substitute and made a huge impact.

Skill and vision
His skill and vision disorientated the Irish defence and on 57 minutes he scored the crucial goal that killed off the Irish challenge. "It was a little easier to come on in the second half, because I was fresh and we were able to bring home the victory," the German midfield player told uefa.com.

'We have to give it our all'
Now Germany, and Trochowski, just need a win against Belgium in tonight's Group B game to reach Sunday's final against Spain. "We have to give it our all in order to reach the final," Trochowski said. "We have seen Belgium, we watched the second half of their game against Ireland on TV and they are a good team, especially on the ground and the result against England says a lot about their character – 1-1 against England says a lot."

'You can never learn enough'
Trochowski is progressing impressively through the German ranks, having also represented the country at Under-16 level. So what is he learning at this tournament? "You can see where you're standing because you can make direct comparisons with other players from different countries," he said. "But you can never learn enough." With a positive attitude towards learning like that, no wonder the 18-year-old has made such an impact at these championships.