Switzerland set sights on semi-finals

Switzerland coach Claude Ryf is urging his players to "play to their potential" as they seek to cement a place in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-finals on the last day of action in Group A.

'We must be better'
Ryf's squad lead the standings after two rounds of matches having scored late goals to draw with England and defeat Slovenia, meaning a point against Ukraine at the RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium will be enough to take Switzerland into the last four for the first time since 2004. Despite the 2-1 defeat of Slovenia, however, the coach believes plenty of improvement is still needed, saying: "For the third game we must be 20 or 30 per cent better otherwise we have no chance. The players must play better football and play to their potential – and not be afraid of the situation. The most important thing for us is always the next match."

Past experience
Switzerland, who are without midfielder Daniel Unal through suspension, were in an identical position in their final Elite round qualifier, when a 1-1 draw against Belgium proved enough to bring them to these finals, and captain Rolf Feltscher admitted: "We have the advantage and that's important. There's obviously a temptation to defend but we can't think too much. We must play and look to win." After draws against Slovenia and England the hosts are of similar mind, coach Yuriy Kalitvintsev saying: "It doesn't matter who we play; we need only to win. We seem to need to ten minutes to settle every time and that's not possible in these competitions. We want to do our best work, and the match with Switzerland is very important. I promise it will be fine for us."

'Exciting finish'
England are level with Ukraine on two points but know that victory against Slovenia will take them into a first semi-final since 2005 regardless of the result across Donetsk. "The important thing is that this league is going to go right to the wire; us and Ukraine need to win our last game so there is everything to play for," said coach Brian Eastick. "We can only worry about ourselves, hope we get the three points and that the other result goes for us. We have to win our last game. Slovenia would like to beat England, as everyone does, but we will do our best to get the three points. That will be enough to qualify. It will be an exciting finish."

Slovenia chance
Slovenia coach Miloš Kostič welcomes back Boban Jovič after the defender's one-match ban although midfield pair Haris Vučkič and Dejan Lazarevič are both suspended following yellow and red cards respectively against Switzerland. Only a win will keep Slovenia in the competition, their coach explaining: "I'm satisfied with how we played in the second half against Switzerland, there's positive things for me – we created more chances than against Ukraine. When players are 18 or 19 it's normal for them to be a bit up and down, but we're here to manage that. I believe in my players; I believe those who come out against England will do their best. We came here to win every game and at the end we'll see how successful we are. We'll go out and play the best football that we can at that moment."