Portugal out to claim finals place

PORTUGAL
Portugal's impressive season continued at the Porto international tournament in April, when wins against Bulgaria (2-1) and Georgia (6-0) preceded a 1-1 draw against Russia as the team finished in second place. "The elite round features all the best teams, so it's no surprise our group is very even and of high quality," said coach Ilídio Vale. "We hope to be at our best and one thing is certain: our aim is qualify for the finals. We beat Spain in the qualifying round so my team have what it takes to succeed, but we'll need to be very focused and sharp."

Qualifying round: Wales 3-0, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 3-0, Spain 1-0 (Group 8 winners)

Key players: Nélson Oliveira (forward, Rio Ave FC), Sérgio Oliveira (midfielder, FC Porto), Roderick Miranda (centre-back, SL Benfica)

HUNGARY
Hopes are high for Gábor Szapor's squad, which contains a sprinkling of players – including Máté Kiss, Adam Balajti and Ádám Kovácsik – from the team that finished third at last year's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Hungary also had home advantage in the qualifying round and started April with two friendlies against the FYROM, winning the first 1-0 before a 4-4 draw. "At this level all the teams have the same chance to claim first place," said Szapor. "This is especially true in our group, which is one of the hardest, if not the hardest. It gives us a chance, though, which we want to take."

Qualifying round: Liechtenstein 4-0, Latvia 5-1, Russia 1-2 (Group 9 runners-up)

Key players: Ádám Kovácsik (goalkeeper, Reggina Calcio), Máté Kiss (defensive midfielder, Győri ETO FC), Adam Balajti (forward, Diósgyőri VTK), Máté Skriba (forward, Haladás FC)

ROMANIA
Cristian Sava has no doubt that Romania can reach a first U19 finals, saying: "We can qualify. Of course we all know that it will be mostly difficult, but the same thing applies to everyone. The difference will be made by the teams' form, approach, attitude and, last but not least, luck." Sava's side have lost to Slovenia and Greece (both 1-0) and Switzerland (2-1) already this year, although a 2-0 defeat of England has given the coach hope. "[In the friendlies] I tried out some other players," said Sava. "It'll be different in the elite round. I trust my players and I think qualification will only be decided in the final minutes."

Qualifying round: Scotland 0-3, Austria 4-0, Armenia 1-0 (Group 6 runners-up)

Key players: Alin Bucuroiu (goalkeeper, Udinese Calcio), Florin Bejan (defender, FC Steaua Bucureşti), Marius Chindris (forward, FCM UTA Arad)

GREECE
Georgios Georgiadis has overseen a demanding friendly programme with a win, a loss and a draw in three games with Serbia, a 2-1 win and a 2-0 loss against Israel and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Austria. The coach has been pleased with his players' performances, saying: "We've been drawn in a very strong group where Portugal are the favourites. However, the friendlies showed that we are on the right track. We believe in our abilities, have confidence in the players and hope to do well. We made various changes to the team that played in the qualifying round and our main task was to bond the group together."

Qualifying round: Faroe Islands 2-0, Belarus 1-0, Serbia 0-1 (Group 5 runners-up)

Key players: Kyriakos Papadopoulos (defender, Olympiacos FC), Athanasios Karagounis (midfielder, Atromitos FC), Nikolaos Karelis (forward, Ergotelis FC)