France loom large for Germany

Belarus coach Dmitri Shevchuk believes a team from Group A will win the 2008/09 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship and while history suggests Germany could be that side, Monday's opponents France appear a force to be reckoned with.

Relieving Bini's burden
According to Sweden coach Calle Barrling France should be a close second on any list of tournament favourites and Les Bleuettes trainer Jean-Michel Degrange did little to dispel the idea, admitting he "hopes he is not wrong". In part because of a debt owed to Bruno Bini, the man who guided France to the title in 2003. "Bini called me just before we left and said he was fed up with being the only one carrying the burden of winning this trophy," said the 56-year-old, who has cause for hope. His charges showed real quality in qualifying, conceding only one goal in six games; now they are ready to contest Germany's hegemony at this level. "We have an interesting group of players who are improving quickly," Degrange added. "It's time for us to prove we're bridging the gap with Germany."

Defensive uncertainties
Germany coach Maren Meinert acknowledges the opposition is getting better all the time, underlining her point by admitting she would not have wanted to choose a group at these finals in Belarus as all seven opponents pose a real threat. Though her team will feature six players with invaluable experience from last year's edition when they reached the last four, and two attacking wunderkinds in Alexandra Popp and Dzsenifer Marozsan, Meinert is not getting ahead of herself, especially after conceding five goals in two friendlies six weeks ago against Australia and the United States. "We do not want to look too far ahead," she cautioned. "We will have a tough first game against France, a team we usually meet a little bit later in the tournament."

Turning point
Even if they hold out against France, Germany's defensive problems could come under the microscope on Thursday when they meet a Switzerland team with an attacking bent. After two years of qualifying disappointment the Swiss were almost unstoppable this time around, setting the standard when they opened their second round account with a 3-0 victory over Italy that effectively ended the titleholders' defence. That triumph, according to Switzerland coach Yannick Schwery, was the turning point for his side. "I remember the stadium announcer [in Altburon, near Lucerne] kept saying we had a very tough group as if he was looking for excuses for us to fail. We won, but now know how big an advantage playing at home is – it could benefit Belarus this time."

Great expectations
The competition debutants begin their campaign against Switzerland in Borisov, home of the FC BATE Borisov side who so impressed in the UEFA Champions League group stage last term, even if they played their home matches at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk. Partisan backing played a big part as BATE held Juventus 2-2 in their first home game, but Shevchuk insists "every medal has its reverse" – the support his team receive could be negated by nervousness that rising expectations may foster. That is not something apparently holding back the Belarus boss himself, and while everyone looked to Germany and France when he said the winner could come from Group A he did not rule out his own charges. "We are not afraid of any team," he said. "We will try to display our best football to the fans."