Janković questions Serbia's billing

Winger Boško Janković does not "agree at all" with the prevailing view that his Serbia side are outsiders at these Under-21 finals.

Point to prove
If Monday's 1-0 win against Italy in the Group B openers was seen by many as a shock, Janković believes his team are being underrated. "Everybody considers us the outsider at this tournament, but I don't agree at all," he said, insisting Serbia will "prove to everybody how good we are on the pitch".

Experienced campaigner
Janković played at the 2004 UEFA European U21 Championship in Germany and was a member of Dragomir Okuka's Serbia and Montenegro side last year in Portugal. "In the last two European Championships, Serbia have done very well," the 23-year-old said. "In 2004 we lost the final against Italy and last summer we got to the semi-finals." Even then, it took a penalty shoot-out for Ukraine to deny them.

Pride in the shirt
Although conscious that "the fact we are not one of the favourites may help us in the end", Janković is keen to stress the strength of this Serbia set-up. "We have a very strong squad which is as good as Italy's," he said, adding of the victory over Pierluigi Casiraghi's men: "Italy may have been better than us but if every opponent plays better than us, and we win, we'll be delighted." Next up are the Czech Republic on Thursday. As great a fillip as Monday's result was, Janković accepts there is plenty more work to do. "Serbia haven't done anything yet," said a player who scored nine goals in 28 Primera División games for RCD Mallorca this season. "The next match is the one we must win, because if we beat the Czech Republic we'll be in the next stage."