Montenegro set for international bow

European rivals
Montenegro was accepted as a full member at the UEFA Congress in Dusseldorf last month and the draw marked the start of the country's integration into the international football arena. But Vlaisavljević was not planning to stand on ceremony when the action gets under way. "I'm sure we'll be a rival for even the biggest European teams. With a little bit of luck we could perform a miracle and go to the play-offs," he said, prior to a draw which placed his men in a testing group alongside Portugal, England, Bulgaria and Republic of Ireland.

Tournament pedigree
The coach's optimism was based on the fact most of his side have already played international football at youth level for the former Serbia and Montenegro – who finished second and fourth respectively in the previous two UEFA European U21 Championships in Germany and Portugal. Simon Vukčević, of Russian club FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast, appeared in both those tournaments and was capped five times by the senior side. He will certainly be one to watch from Vlaisavljević's squad, along with 17-year-old prodigy Stefan Jovetić of FK Partizan, Slobodan Lakićević of FC Bayer Leverkusen, and AC Chievo Verona's new signing Ivan Fatić.

Past legends
Vlaisavljević said the current crop of young Montenegrin players have the ability to follow in the footsteps of legendary players from the country's past. "Montenegro are well known as a nation with natural football talent," he said. "For example, Dejan Savićević and Predrag Mijatović made their reputations in Montenegro, before they went to bigger clubs and had great international careers with AC Milan and Real Madrid [CF]. There are lots of talented players in this selection as well and they have a unique opportunity to show that. I'm sure they'll give their best and play with heart and passion in every game."

Time pressures
The main obstacle to Vlaisavljević's ambitions could be a lack of time when it comes to preparing for the qualification campaign. "We must arrange two or three friendlies against countries in our region," he said. "We don't have time to make serious preparations because our championship starts on 3 March and our national team has only one friendly before June - when we start U21 qualification."