Corchia champions French belief

France defender Sébastien Corchia believes that "a lot of self-confidence and motivation" have played a big part in helping Les Petits Bleues to a UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-final meeting with England in Donetsk on Thursday.

Local backing
France progressed to the last four after a 1-0 triumph over Spain in their final Group B match and their 18-year-old full-back told uefa.com he was thrilled with the level of support his team received as they prepared to leave their base in Mariupol. "This is something new for me and everything here has been very impressive," he said. "I'm really surprised by the attention we've been getting; we were receiving looks of admiration from everybody. The people here like their football and seem to like the French team. When it's time for us to go back home, that's what I will remember."

Attack-minded
Revelling in an attacking full-back role, Corchia has played an important part for Jean Gallice's side who began their U19 challenge with 1-1 draws against Serbia and Turkey. Although defensive duties are a priority for the Le Mans UC 72 player, getting forward in support of the front line is something he feels he excels at. "My specialty is getting up and down the touchline as I'm quite quick," he explained. "I would consider myself a modern defender as I like to be attacking and to combine roles with the midfielder up ahead. I love to cross the ball and sometimes I even manage to cut inside. Obviously, as a defender I must also remember my duties at the back which are fundamental."

Italian legend
Having seen his idol Paolo Maldini hang up his boots at the end of last season, Corchia - who bears a slight resemblance to the Italy legend - admitted he would like to one day play in the land of the former AC Milan captain. "Maldini was my favourite player when I was younger and although I need to concentrate on playing more Ligue 1 games next season, one day I would like to play for a really big European club; a team like Juventus. It's my dream to play in the UEFA Champions League and also to win titles," he said, before expressing his happiness to be involved in this year's finals. "I have worked very hard to be at the level I'm at and right now I am getting a lot of pleasure out of being in Ukraine; it's like a gift."