Group 2 rivals have no room for error

There is plenty of pedigree in UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round Group 2, which includes four-time winners Spain, runners-up a year ago. England, finalists in 2005 and 2009 and world U17 champions Switzerland – who have home advantage – will also fancy their chances, while Montenegro showed their solidity in qualifying.

England
Having reached the semi-finals in 2010 after finishing runners-up a year earlier, Noel Blake's squad contains several members of the 2010 European U17 Championship-winning squad. Including the qualifying round defeat by Belgium, however, England have lost their last three matches, also going down to Germany (0-1) and the Netherlands (0-3) in friendlies.

"It will be a big test but these are the sort of challenges we want," said Blake. "Switzerland are the home nation and won the World Cup in this year group two years ago. Spain are always seen as favourites and Montenegro will be a different proposition in terms of their physicality and technical ability. It's three different types of test against three decent sides, so it's a challenge we're looking forward to."

Qualifying round: Albania 6-1, Cyprus 4-0, Belgium 1-2 (second in Group 8)

Key players: John Flanagan (defender, Liverpool FC), Josh McEachran (midfielder, Chelsea FC), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (midfielder, Southampton FC), Benik Afobe (forward, Arsenal FC)

Montenegro
In the elite round for the second season running, Aleksandar Miljenović's team have prepared with friendlies against Turkey away (0-3, 3-3) and Greece at home (0-0, 3-4). "We are realistic and know our chances are very, very small," said the coach. "Any point will be a big success but the most important thing is that our young players will have a chance to gain experience, which will be very useful for their future."

Qualifying round: Austria 1-1, France 0-2, San Marino 5-0 (second in Group 12)

Key players: Stefan Mugoša (forward, FK Budućnost Podgorica), Risto Radunović (defender, FK Budućnost Podgorica), Luka Petričević (defender, PAOK FC), Branislav Janković (midfielder, FK Grbalj)

Spain
Spain were characteristically impressive in the qualifying round yet coach Julen Lopetegui expects last year's finalists to face a stern task in Switzerland. "We are facing the reigning FIFA U-17 World Cup winners while England are always among the favourites and Montenegro played a great qualifying phase," said the former Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona reserve goalkeeper. "We will treat it as a challenge and know that if we do our job in the right way we will be very competitive." La Roja prepared with a mini-tournament in Portugal last month where they drew 1-1 with the hosts before losing 1-0 to France and defeating Russia 3-1.

Qualifying round: Lithuania 6-0, Armenia 3-0, Israel 3-0 (first in Group 11)

Key players: Pablo Sarabia (midfielder, Real Madrid CF), Isco (forward, Valencia CF), Koke (midfielder, Club Atlético de Madrid), Marc Muniesa (defender, FC Barcelona)

Switzerland
Having qualified unbeaten Switzerland have recorded friendly victories against France (1-0), Luxembourg (6-0) and Slovakia (2-0), although the Luxembourg win came at a cost as Charyl Chappuis suffered a calf injury which rules him out of the elite stage. Coach Claude Ryf nevertheless called it a "successful rehearsal", adding: "There are different standards waiting for us in the elite round. Spain are a challenge for every team in the world, but we are ready. We can keep up with any team, including the big ones."

Qualifying round: Northern Ireland 0-0, Andorra 6-0, Germany 2-2 (second in Group 13)

Key players: Loris Benito (midfielder, FC Aarau), Oliver Buff (midfielder, FC Zürich), Janick Kamber (defender, FC Basel 1893), Granit Xhaka (midfielder, FC Basel 1893)