'Everything possible' for Netherlands

The Netherlands will make their UEFA European Under-19 Championship debut this year, but Wim van Zwam is not ready to stop there. Having remained unbeaten in qualifying, winning five of their six fixtures and booking their finals berth with a 3-0 dismantling of Germany, the coach is confident his side can make a significant impact in France.

UEFA.com: You're in Group A along with France, Austria and England; how do you see that?

Wim van Zwam: It didn't matter which group we were put in; it's a strong competition. When you qualify for a European Championship it's always going be tough; it always depends on what happens on the day of the match. Are you in good shape; do you have injuries; do you have your best players? If you want to win the tournament you have to be lucky sometimes.

UEFA.com: You play France in your opening match; does that make life harder?

Van Zwam: It will be on TV, there will be a lot of publicity and pressure; that's the moment of truth for young players. They have to be at their best from the first game, but I like that.

UEFA.com: Do you know much about the other sides in the tournament?

Van Zwam: We've played France, England, Italy and Portugal this season – but all in friendly games, not qualification. There's a big difference. For example, against France it was 3-0 to us after 35 minutes; that's not a game. It won't be 3-0 in July. I don't know much about Austria, but they came back from 2-1 and 3-2 down in their last qualifier [against Denmark] when they had to win so they must be a tough team.

UEFA.com: What are your ambitions for the finals?

Van Zwam: To win the tournament; that must always be the target. But you have to start with the first game, so we forget about Austria and England and focus on France. If we can win that we will, but it's important not to lose it. A draw keeps you in the tournament; when you lose the first game it's going to be tough, but you still have two chances to get to the semi-finals.

UEFA.com: How do you explain the failure to qualify in the past?

Van Zwam: Young players get more of a chance in the first team in the Netherlands, which works against us for qualifying. When you're 18 and play 30 games at the top level and then have to play in a tournament, that's tough. They're tired, and they can't play the way they usually do because they're not in the best shape. That's very hard. Also, they're used to playing in front of 20,000, 30,000 people and then play the elite round with much smaller crowds; that's a mind game.

UEFA.com: So why has this Dutch team finally managed to qualify?

Van Zwam: Because we are a real team. Last year we had a lot of individual quality, lots of players who are already in the U21s. Now we have no big stars. We are hard to beat. We stick together and we fight for each other.