Finals chance spurs France forwards

Having missed out last year, 2005 winners France are especially keen to earn a place in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament as they welcome Romania, Norway and Latvia for Group 5.

Lengthy exiles
The second Elite round section brings together the mini-tournament hosts – edged out in their final qualifier by eventual runners-up Italy a year ago – with a Romania side who have not qualified for this event since 1993, when it was played at U18 level. Norway are also looking to end a long exile from the final tournament, where they were last involved in 2005, while Latvia have progressed from the qualifying round for the first time since 2002/03.

FRANCE
Four years after guiding a team including Yoann Gourcuff, Lassana Diarra and Yohan Gouffran to the title, Jean Gallice is back in charge and has had an immediate impact, overseeing an eleven-match unbeaten run. Stade Rennais FC forwards Yacine Brahimi and Damien Le Tallec have contributed 14 of France's 27 goals this season, the former scoring nine, but Gallice is taking nothing for granted. "The clear target is to be among the top eight teams in Europe," he said. "We're at home but sometimes it's too close to call with youth teams."

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

Key players: Yacine Brahimi (striker, Stade Rennais FC), Damien Le Tallec (striker, Stade Rennais FC), Yann M'Vila (midfielder, Stade Rennais FC)

ROMANIA
Romania may have not qualifiedfor 16 years, but there is genuine optimism in the squad following a series of impressive displays. Four friendlies against Turkey produced one win and two draws, while there have also been fine performances against the Netherlands (2-2) and the Czech Republic (3-0), although defeats by Denmark and Portugal temper that confidence. "France are obviously clear favourites," said coach Adrian Vasai. "They qualify for the finals regularly and always aim to win the trophy. We will go for it and our first two matches, against Latvia and Norway, will be crucial for our morale. Who knows what might happen?"

Qualifying round: Wales 3-2, Andorra 2-0, Turkey 1-2 (Group 11 runners-up)

Key players: Cornel Râpă (full-back, FC Oţelul Galaţi), Marius Alexe (midfielder, FC Ploieşti), Denis Alibec (striker, FC Farul Constanţa)

NORWAY
Norway coach Øivind Nilsen has lost the services of 13 players from his original Elite round squad, with centre-back Håvard Nordtveit – an ever-present for Lillestrøm SK this year since joining on loan from Arsenal FC – Manchester United FC midfielder Magnus Wolff Eikrem and FC Lyn Oslo forward Jo Inge Berget the key withdrawals. Although Nilsen's team will consequently be short of experience the coach remains hopeful, adding: "The squad will look a lot different than intended but we will have to see how good an account of ourselves we can give."

Qualifying round: Slovenia 4-2, Armenia 1-0, Slovakia 0-1 (Group 5 winners)

Key player: Marcus Pedersen (striker, Strømsgodset IF)

LATVIA
Vladimirs Belajevs's team sprang a major surprise in the qualifying round, knocking out last season's runners-up Italy to prompt jubilation in their country and praise from senior national team coach Aleksandrs Starkovs. Although reaching the finals may prove a step too far, Latvia have a strong squad – most of whom have already featured in the Virsliga – and Belajevs is in bullish mood. "France have a very strong team and home advantage," he admitted. "It will be hard against Romania and Norway as well, but we're not going to give up. We'll try to bring the favourites down."

Qualifying round: Italy 2-2, Russia 0-2, Moldova 1-0 (Group 3 runners-up)

Key players: Deniss Kuzmickis (midfielder, FK Tranzīts Ventspils), Armands Petersons (striker, JFK Olimps)