England expect experience to pay off

By Andrew Haslam

England coach Martin Hunter has an experienced squad at his disposal as his side aim to become the first team to join tournament hosts Northern Ireland in this summer's UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals when the Elite round kicks off on Saturday.

Home advantage
Hunter's team received a bye in the qualifying round by virtue of their UEFA coefficient ranking, and have been placed in Group 1 alongside Sweden, Denmark and Moldova. Having missed out on last year's finals, England will be keen to make amends this time round and also have home advantage on their side.

Senior experience
Hunter can call upon a squad which, despite its youth boasts a number of players with senior first-team club experience. However, he is without Middlesbrough FC midfield player James Morrison after hernia surgery and his club-mate defender Tony McMahon following an operation on damaged knee ligaments.

Huddlestone call
Tom Huddlestone, who can play in defence or midfield, is already an U21 international and has been a virtual ever-present for club Derby Country FC over the past two seasons. Arguably the key figure in the side, Huddlestone will join Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur FC this summer in a €3.6m transfer.

'Talented group'
Hunter believes that could prove invaluable, saying: "A lot of these players have already got first-team experience, so it's a very talented group. The players now pit their wits against the best in Europe and performance is important, but these are competitive matches and we'll be looking to win them. It will be a real test."

Swedish style
Sweden reached the Elite round in style, scoring nine goals in three qualifying round matches to clinch Group 10 with maximum points. Coach Hans Lindbom has a strong squad, demonstrated by Landskrona BoIS forward Måns Sörensson's recent trial with AFC Ajax while Patrick Amoah Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen have also shown real promise.

'Ambitious players'
"We've got an interesting squad with young ambitious players," said Lindbom. "In a way our situation is similar to the senior national squad, as the number of attack-minded players has increased over the last few years. That gives us a lot of interesting possibilities. We hope to do well in England, but we know it will be tough."

Mixed results
Denmark finished second behind Albania in Group 6 in the first stage, but have since recorded mixed results. After a two-day training camp in Denmark, Per Andersen's team participated in a friendly tournament in Spanish training resort La Manga but, having defeat the Czech Republic 3-1, defeats by Norway and the Republic of Ireland followed.

Schmeichel influence
Andersen nevertheless remains confident, saying: "We fight very well, and the players really stand together." Kasper Schmeichel, the son of Danish great Peter, is the first-choice goalkeeper, while defender Michael Jacobsen is already a key figure at Aalborg BK and midfield player Leon Jessen of PSV Eindhoven have also displayed their talents at club level.

Third-place bonus
Moldova have made rapid strides in recent years, reaching the European U17 Championship finals in 2002. However, Boris Tropanet's side will be considered outsiders in Group 1 having squeezed through as the best third-placed side in the qualifying round after finishing behind Ukraine - who they defeated 1-0 - and Poland in Group 2. Tropanet is also coach of his country's U21 team, and a number of Moldova's U19 players have already represented the more senior side, including strikers Alexandru Suvorov and Serghei Alexeev and defender Alexandru Epureanu.

Additional reporting by Jan Juhlin, Peter Bruun and Jevgenijs Ravdin