France

Known to have a talented squad this season, France reached their fifth straight UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals in extraordinary style. As elite round hosts they trailed Norway by two goals ahead of the final day. But France were six up by half-time against Belarus and won 9-0, an elite round record, to pip Norway whose 5-0 defeat of Georgia was not enough.

France actually did not win their qualifying round group, having followed a 1-0 win against Slovenia with a 1-1 draw against Cyrpus and 2-1 loss to Italy. They also were held 2-2 by Norway in the elite round after an opening win against Georgia but in their decisive game fulfilled the pre-tournament prediction by coach Patrick Gonfalone that "this generation is filled with quality and can go all the way in either the European Championship or the [FIFA U-17] World Cup". They would have a lot to live up to if they matched the 2004 success of Karim Benzema, Samir Nasir and Co.

Qualifying round: Slovenia 1-0, Cyprus 1-1, Italy 1-2 (Group 9 runners-up)

Elite round: Georgia 2-0, Norway 2-2, Belarus 9-0 (Group 6 winners)

Key players
Quentin Beunardeau (goalkeeper, Le Mans FC), Sébastien Haller (forward, AJ Auxerre), Raphaël Calvet (defender, AJ Auxerre), Abdallah Yaisien (forward, Paris Saint-Germain FC)

Coach: Patrick Gonfalone

Date of Birth: 2 November 1955
Nationality: French
Playing career: Angers SCO, AJ Auxerre, Le Havre AC, SC Abbeville
Coaching career: SC Abbeville, ES Viry-Châtillon, Ligue de Football de Basse-Normandie, France U16/U17

Tunis-born Gonfalone had plenty of success as a winger, twice winning promotion with Angers and also playing in the top flight for Auxerre as they were establishing themselves among France's elite. In 1986/87 he became player coach of Ligue 2 Abbeville and concentrated on management from the following season. In 1990 he joined Viry-Châtillon and led them into the second tier.

Gonfalone joined the French Football Federation (FFF) in 1997 as U21 assisant national coach. He kept that role until 2008, and the following year began to coach the group of players that was to qualify for the 2011 U17 finals. That will not be his first European final tournament as a head coach – Gonfalone led amateur selection Basse-Normandie at the 2007 UEFA Regions' Cup in Bulgaria.

Team records

Qualifying top scorer
Abdallah Yaisien: 8

UEFA European Under-17 Championship best
Winners: 2004
Runners-up: 2002, 2008

Honours in UEFA youth competitions
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winners: 2005, 2010
UEFA European Under-18 Championship
Winners: 1983, 1996, 1997, 2000
UEFA European Under-16 Championship
Runners-up: 1996, 2001
International Youth Tournament (U18)
Winners: 1949
Runners-up: 1950, 1968

Other honours:
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winners: 2001