Spain seek more success

By Andrew Haslam in Nottwil

Spain have the opportunity to confirm their pedigree in youth competitions with victory in their second Group B game on Thursday night, but Armando Ufarte's side face a tough task against Turkey in Lausanne.

Three-point target
Both sides emerged victorious from the first round of matches, Spain dismantling Germany 3-0 while an Ali Öztürk hat-trick inspired Turkey to a thrilling 4-3 success against Poland. A win for either side at the Juan A Samaranch stadium would be enough to book a place in the last four, but neither coach is looking too far ahead.

Interesting encounter
"The match promises to be interesting," Ufarte said after goals from Victor, Jaime Gavilán and Roberto Soldado secured an impressive opening-day win. "We will enjoy a rest and watch the video of their game with Poland. Technically they are a strong side and have a skilful midfield quartet."

'Dangerous outfit'
The Spain coach is aware Turkey represent a fresh challenge, saying: "They are a very different side to the Germans. I don't think we will change much. We showed against Germany what a dangerous outfit we can be and hopefully, we will create chances and keep another clean sheet."

Turkish threat
Turkey's coach, Gündüz Tekin Onay, offered praise for the Spanish but remained confident in his players' ability, saying: "We must do our very best against Spain because they are technically very good. But Spain must also think very hard about us as we are a strong and powerful team."

Final aim
Onay believes that the remarkable commitment his players show has been a key factor in their success to date. "We play every game like it is the final and we aim to reach the final and win," he said. "If we don't believe that we will not achieve our goal."

Three points required
Meanwhile, the two defeated sides come face to face in Fribourg as Germany play Poland at the St Léonard stadium. The match has added significance as the first three sides in each section qualify for next year's FIFA World Youth Championship, a factor which played on the mind of both coaches.

Qualifying form
"Against Poland I hope we will show the same kind of form we showed in qualifying," said Germany's Dieter Eilts. "We will quickly reflect on where we went wrong against Spain before moving on to more positive areas, and will analyse the video of Poland's last match. We have already studied their tactics and so we know they will play in a very different style to Spain and are aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

'Step up a gear'
"They play more directly than the Spanish, the kind of game my players are perhaps more familiar with," Eilts continued "It will not be easy but I promise we will play better. I am glad we only have one day of rest because my players are itching to get back on the pitch and show what they are really capable of. Our goal before the tournament was to qualify for the World Youth Championship. To do this we must improve on our current form and step up a gear for the next two matches."

Polish promise
Poland coach Andrzej Zamilski was seeking similar improvement from his players and promised changes, saying: "Against Germany, whoever wins will go to the World Championship. It is a final for us. The three boys who came on as substitutes for us in the second half [Marcin Tarnowski, Tomasz Szczepan and Gregorz Szymanek] will start the second match."