UEFA European U-19 C’ship: Norway set sights on final four

UEFA

July 20 2005

Norway can book a place in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship
semi-finals should they record a second successive Group B victory
against France in Belfast tonight, while England and Armenia will
look for their first win of the finals as they meet in Ballymena.

Early advantage
Norway are the section’s early leaders having defeated the Armenians
2-0 on Monday, when France and England played out a 1-1 draw at The
Oval in Belfast. But if coach Tor Ole Skullerund was delighted with
his team’s start to the competition, he remained cautiously
optimistic.

First-game focus
“We set our focus on the first game, which we obviously wanted to
win,” the coach said. “That game was very important for us, and we
have started the championship positively. We have two tough games
coming up but have no pressure and can just let ourselves loose. We
will have our hands full but if we can continue to defend well we
will do fine.

Fluctuating fortunes
“Against Armenia when we were good, we were really good but there
were periods when we were not so good,” Skullerund went on.
“Therefore we have to go back to the training pitch and try to
improve on that. But we have everything to gain now. We were
optimistic when we came and we are even more optimistic now.”

Trio available again
France in turn are buoyed by the return from suspension of midfield
pair Vassiriki Diaby and Yohan Cabaye, while Paris Saint-Germain FC
striker Franck Dja Djedje is also available again after a one-match
ban. Coach Jean Gallice, however, completes a two-match touchline
suspension against the Norwegians, so Philippe Bergeroo – who guided
the U17 side to victory in last year’s European Championship and also
coached France in their successful UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup campaign
earlier this year – is likely to be on the bench again.

Words of caution
Bergeroo, though, does not accept that the returning trio will
necessarily make life easier, saying: “Football is not an exact
science. Regardless of the result between Norway and Armenia, we knew
how good the Norwegian team is, and we take them very seriously.”

Eager to play
Dja Djedje is eager to make an impact, having scored three times in
qualifying, telling uefa.com: “It is really a strange feeling to
watch your team play from the stands, especially against England. We
played well despite the suspensions, but now I am very impatient to
play and am looking forward to the match against Norway. I don’t know
them or their style of play, so it will be new.”

We know that if we don’t perform to the maximum we won’t qualify

Martin Hunter

Hunter hopeful
England, meanwhile, will hope to bolster their qualification bid with
three points against first-time qualifiers Armenia at The
Showgrounds. “We were short of fitness against France, but we are
confident for the next match,” said coach Martin Hunter. “We will
review the fitness and make appropriate changes for the match against
Armenia. This is a European Championship final [tournament], we take
each match as it comes. We know that if we don’t perform to the
maximum we won’t qualify.”

Manucharyan threat
Goals from Karim Aoudia and Vidar Nisja condemned Armenia to defeat
on their first-ever appearance in a finals tournament, but Samuel
Petrosyan’s team will seek to bounce back in style. Striker Edgar
Manucharyan joined AFC Ajax on 1 July and, having scored eight of his
side’s ten goals in qualifying, will attempt to add to that tally on
Wednesday.