Spain and Serbia seek second successes

Something has to give when Serbia meet Spain with both looking to build on a winning start in UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group B while Turkey and Belgium each believe only a victory on Matchday 2 will keep them in contention.

Spain assumed their familiar position at the head of the standings thanks to a 4-1 win against Belgium, although they have had a day's less rest after the fixture was postponed from Wednesday. That gave Ginés Meléndez cause for caution. "We have one day less to prepare but you never know, that might actually benefit us," the coach said. "We're used to playing in series of games where we only have a day's break so let's see if we can get the boys recovered from the Belgium game and get their confidence up so that we can produce a good match. If we beat Serbia we'll be virtually in the semi-finals, but it's going to be very difficult because they're a strong side."

Serbia's morale is further boosted by the return from suspension of defender Uroš Čosić and midfield pair Darko Brašanac and Nenad Lukić, the latter their top scorer in qualifying with six goals from five games. "Spain are the No1 team in the competition but we'll give our best as we're representing Serbian football," said coach Dejan Govedarica, whose side opened with a 2-0 victory against Turkey. "We have to stay calm and keep both feet on the ground – it's one game and one win. Spain playing a day later might be an advantage for us but they're still the favourites for the trophy."

Govedarica described his side's Matchday 1 opponents as "a very good team who can definitely improve" and Kemal Özdeş will hope that assessment is correct as he welcomes Furkan Şeker, Nadir Çiftçi and Şervan Taştan back from suspension. "While they won't make a massive difference, they'll certainly give us extra options, particularly in attack," the Turkey coach said. "Against Belgium, we'll try to play the same as we wanted to play against Serbia. For the last year we've had a certain system and we'll stick to that for the next game. Hopefully it will be a different story."

Belgium's Marc Van Geersom is also sticking to his guns despite an initial setback, saying simply: "Now we have to beat Turkey." Goalkeeper Koen Casteels is suspended following his red card against Spain so Thomas Kaminski will continue to deputise, while "three injured players" – centre-back Dino Arslanagic limped off early on in the Spain defeat and has been replaced in the squad by Matz Sels – might force Van Geersom into further changes. "Only a win will keep either side in the tournament," the coach admitted. "Even a draw won't be enough; I think we need two victories now."