UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group B will go down to the wire - that is the prediction of Germany coach Frank Engel, whose team face Russia, France and Serbia in that pool.
Fine form
Engel's team did not concede a goal in the Elite round to show their strength and return to the U19s finals after missing out for the first time in three years last season. They will make the short trip in good heart, having begun the season with a 1-0 win in Austria and gone on to gain ten victories and two draws in 13 2006/07 fixtures. But Engel knows the final tournament is a step up.
High hopes
"I think both groups are difficult groups," Engel told uefa.com. "Anyone can beat anyone in this tournament. We have played Russia and France, there was not much in it. We have a good team, players who have played in the first and second division. And we have had many good performances this season and I hope we can win the tournament."
East German success
This is not Engel’s first final tournament as a coach, even though he only joined the German Football Association last year to take over this generation of players. Engel, who has coached in the Korea Republic and was most recently working at FC Hansa Rostock. At the age of 25, having retired from playing due to injury, he was employed as a coach by the East German Football Association and led his nation to third place at the 1986 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in Spain, beating Holger Osieck's West Germany for bronze.
Improvement
However, Engel says youth tournaments have moved on considerably in the intervening decades. "Modern football has improved, it is faster," he said. "And you can see that from how the tournaments are now organised, from the draw ceremony. Youth football has reached a more senior level. This tournament always contained the future, it shows players the way to become professional."
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