Finalists fixed on U19 crown

By Andrew Haslam in Belfast

The 2004/05 UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals kick off in Northern Ireland this evening, with eight sides hoping to lift the trophy for the first time.

Group lineups
Hosts Northern Ireland are joined in Group A by Greece, Germany and Serbia and Montenegro, while Group B comprises first-time qualifiers Armenia, England, France and Norway. None of the eight have won this tournament since it changed from an U18 to an U19 event ahead of the 2001/02 season, with Germany coming closest by reaching the inaugural final in Norway only to lose to Spain.

Final failures
That was the third time Germany had reached the final since starting to compete as a unified state in autumn 1990, with Portugal and the Republic of Ireland inflicting defeats in 1994 and 1998, although West and East Germany did collect the U18 trophy in 1981 and 1986 respectively. France, meanwhile, had an enviable record at U18 level, claiming the continental crown in 1983, 1996, 1997 and 2000, but had failed to qualify for the finals since the last of those triumphs.

Long wait
England are the only other side in Northern Ireland to have tasted success at U18 standard, prevailing on home soil 12 years ago. They too have struggled in the latter stages since the tournament was reclassified and missed out on the finals altogether last year - indeed, of the eight qualifiers in Switzerland in 2003/04, only Germany are present in Northern Ireland. Norway reached these finals in 2002 as hosts and 2003, before succumbing to Belgium in the Elite round last season.

Lengthy absences
Serbia and Montenegro have not qualified since finishing fourth in the final U18 event in 2001 as Yugoslavia, while Greece have consistently fallen in qualifying, failing to appear in the final round since the 1999 championship in Sweden - although they took fourth place on that occasion.

Tournament debuts
These finals take on special significance for the hosts and Armenia, both of whom make their debuts at this stage. The two teams have extra reason to celebrate - Northern Ireland are staging a final tournament for the first time, while no Armenian side at any age group have contested the finals of a major international competition before.

Opening fixtures
All eight sides have their reasons for wanting to impress over the next 12 days. England and France get the tournament under way when they meet at The Oval in Belfast at 17.00 local time, with the other Group B match between Norway and Armenia taking place at Mourneview Park, Lurgan, two hours later. Serbia and Montenegro face Germany in the first fixture in Group A at The Showgrounds in Newry, also kicking off at 19.00, before back in Belfast the hosts take on Greece at Windsor Park.

Latter stages
The four countries in each section meet once, with the top two progressing to the last four. The semi-finals are scheduled for 26 July in Lurgan and at The Showgrounds in Ballymena, with the winners facing off at Windsor Park in the final three days later.