Netherlands and Germany await U17 final

With one win apiece in their two previous meetings this season, the Netherlands and 2009 winners Germany meet for a third time on Sunday with the UEFA European Under-17 Championship title on the line in Novi Sad.

Albert Stuivenberg and Steffen Freund's teams were initially matched in a September friendly tournament, with Germany triumphing 2-1 on home soil. The Netherlands gained revenge with a 2-0 opening win here in Group B last week. Germany still made it through and shrugged off four suspensions on Thursday to defeat Denmark 2-0 in the semi-finals and book another date with the Netherlands, who prevailed 1-0 against holders England to reach their third final since 2005, having lost the previous two.

"There will be no surprises – we probably all know who will be playing and who will be the substitutes," said Freund, who welcomes back previously banned right-back Mitchell Weiser, centre-half Nico Perrey, winger Fabian Schnellhardt and top scorer Samed Yesil, who was also suspended for the opening loss. "We both know how each other will play. The minor details will be decisive. There are different qualities in both teams and they are at the same level."

Stuivenberg, in charge when the Netherlands lost 2-1 after extra time to Germany in the 2009 final, concurred with Freund's assessment, admitting there will be "no secrets" to unearth. "We are very happy to be playing in the final again, it was our goal," he said. "We are looking forward to the game. It's very interesting again, especially because we played against each other in the first game.

"I do think it will be a different match; it's an unpredictable game, a lot of things can change It's a final so there might be a bit of tension among the players. Hopefully there'll be a lot of spectators and I wish for a good youth game which provides the publicity that U17 football deserves."

The final will have the perfect chance to do just that, with the match screened live on Eurosport. "It will be a very special day," added Freund. "I'm very pleased for the boys that they've reached the final. It's special for the young players, the whole of Germany stands behind them. There have been a lot of viewers on the TV so the names, as well as the faces, are now well known in Germany."

A EURO '96 winner as a player, Freund insists his plan for the final will be different to the tentative early approach adopted against Denmark. "The Danish team had a perfect group stage and of course I noticed that," he said. "That's why we started more defensively against them and it worked. Tomorrow is another game. I know we lost our first match against the Netherlands but tomorrow is a new day."

Stuivenberg, meanwhile, is urging his players to stick together for one final push towards the trophy as they seek to extend a run of six games without conceding a goal. "It's in the word 'team' – that's what we focused on from the beginning," he said. "The players are well aware that defending, attacking and transition is the game. You can only do that with each other. Everybody has his own task. Nobody is more important than the team and up until now that has been our strength."

Estonia's Kristo Tohver will referee the final, assisted by Vencel Tóth of Hungary and Georgia's Giorgi Kruashvili, with Sébastien Delferière as fourth official. Earlier this week, Tohver spoke to UEFA.com.