Browaeys states Belgian belief

Belgium are aiming for a top five finish at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and coach Bob Browaeys believes home advantage and team spirit can help them achieve their goal.

Korean dream
Two of the five previous U17 finals have been won by host nations - France and Portugal - but Browaeys knows it will be very tough for his team in the tournament from 2-13 May. However, a finish among the leading quintet earn his side a ticket for this summer's FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic - just the learning experience the coach wants for his players.

'Very tough'
"It will be very tough, as we now will meet the strongest nations, and we actually are still a small nation ourselves," Browaeys told uefa.com. "The challenge for us will be to end in the top five and to earn a ticket for the World Cup, as that is something Belgium have never managed to do before at U17 level. So that is our sporting goal.

Experience
"But we take a much wider view, as experiencing a tournament like this is a very important step for players to take that experience with them towards a professional career. And a EURO tournament can help them in that. So at first we look at development instead of only results. But both can go hand in hand, as qualifying for the World Cup would bring even more experience."

Home help
Being hosts could certainly be an important factor. The 38-year-old coach said: "Home advantage could help us in our task, as it will be special for the lads to play for the home crowd and I am 100 per cent convinced they will give all they have got and that can give an extra dimension to the result."

Team spirit
Browaeys, who has worked for the Belgian Football Association since 1999, has also made it his task to instil a special bond among his player. "I have worked with earlier squads with real talents who have made it to the senior national team like Moussa Dembele, Anthony Vanden Borre and Steven Dufour. But of all the squads I have coached, this generation has the best team spirit, which could be the key for us in this tournament."

Busy programme
Though they have had no competitive matches this season, Browaeys' side have had a busy programme, playing 15 games so far, with four wins and four draws among a tough schedule which has included encounters with fellow finalists England and Spain. In January they lost 2-0 twice against Turkey but a month later they gained a 3-0 win against Korea Republic after a 2-1 loss, though they fell 5-2 in England.

Wednesday draw
They are currently in a three-day training camp, and after finding out their final tournament group stage opponents when the draw is made on Wednesday in Brussels they meet 2006 hosts Luxembourg, followed by a 25 April encounter with fellow finalists the Netherlands. "We hope to be able to follow the draw in our hotel together, which could help team spirit," Browaeys said. "The match against The Dutch is the final test for us seeing that they are also playing at the tournament."