Croatia geared up for Group 5 task

Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the 2005/06 UEFA European Under-19 Championship for the first time have suffered a significant setback as they prepare to welcome Israel, Portugal and F.Y.R. Macedonia in Elite round Group 5.

Tadic ruled out
Ivica Grnja's side reached this stage for the third successive season after remaining unbeaten against Bulgaria, Iceland and Bosnia-Herzegovina to win Group 11 in the qualifying round. One of Croatia's best players, Bayer 04 Leverkusen forward Josip Tadic – already an U21 international – will miss his side's bid to reach this summer's final tournament in Poland having broken his collarbone. "It's a really big blow for our team, he was our key player and now we must go for a younger replacement," said Grnja.

Grnja apprehension
Grnja, whose side won two of a three-match series against Hungary in February before playing Slovenia in March, losing 1-0 on home soil and winning the reverse fixture by the same scoreline. Despite that, the Croatia coach believes his side are outsiders, saying: "Portugal are definitely the favourites but Israel also have a solid team and F.Y.R. Macedonia recently defeated Bulgaria 3-0 so that should be a warning for us. Our key players should be midfielder Anas Sharbini and forward Nikola Kalinic, although both are in the senior squads at their clubs so might be lacking in match practice."

Dinis confidence
For his part, Portugal coach Carlos Dinis has based his squad around FC Porto and Sporting Clube de Portugal players, with the former providing seven members and the latter six. Portugal prepared for the mini-tournament in Croatia with victory in the XXIV Porto International Tournament in April, defeating China (5-1), Norway (4-1) and Canada (1-0) with midfielder Bruno Gama and goalkeeper Igor Araújo both catching the eye. "This tournament was important for our growth as a team," said Dinis. "We are even more confident and improved both in defence and attack. We are very positive about the future."

Israeli perfection
Israel reached the Elite round with a 100 per cent record, defeating Cyprus, Malta and Norway to claim first place in Group 4 with Maccabi Haifa FC starlet Maor Bar Buzaglo leading the way. Although a number of the squad have since been required to participate in national service, Israel have at least recorded 1-0 victories against Serbia and Montenegro and Northern Ireland in 2006, although another match with the Northern Irish ended in a 2-1 defeat while Slovakia earned two 1-0 wins in February. However, the side received a welcome boost with the news that Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC's Nigerian-born striker Toto Adurans Tamuz Temile, who scored eleven goals in 23 league appearances this season, has been granted permission to represent Israel.

Macedonian nerve
F.Y.R. Macedonia, meanwhile, squeezed into the second round having finished as runners-up in Group 9 after a three-way tie with Turkey and Romania on five points. Ilco Gjorgjioski's team last reached this stage two seasons ago and, having lost two of their three games on that occasion, will hope for better fortune this time round. Zoran Zlatkovski scored three times in the qualifying round while a recovery from 2-0 down to snatch a draw in their final fixture against Turkey, which ultimately secured their progress, showed the fighting spirit in the team.

Additional reporting by Nuno Tavares and Ofer Ronen-Abels