Denmark, Switzerland, Belarus, Iceland prepare

This summer may not hold the promise of a UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup but for football lovers, a tournament in Denmark with its own special character should more than make up for that.

This is the view of Keld Bordinggaard, coach of the host team at this month's UEFA European Under-21 Championship, who believes the unique atmosphere of this under-age event and the platform it provides young players to showcase their talents ensures there is plenty to look forward to.

"I look forward to seeing some of the greatest talents in Europe," Bordinggaard told UEFA.com. "It will be a tournament with players who might not yet be as big stars as their senior counterparts, but that gives these tournaments their very own atmosphere which hopefully is something the spectators will appreciate as well."

Denmark face Switzerland in their first Group A fixture in Aalborg on Saturday night and the Switzerland coach, Pierluigi Tami, predicts a wide-open competition. "To tell you the truth, I don't know who the real favourite is," he said. "I maybe see the Czech Republic as favourites, because of their impressive qualification campaign, but I think all the other teams have a chance to win."

While the Czechs are in Group B with England, Spain and Ukraine, the other Group A sides are Belarus and Iceland, who contest the opening game in Aarhus at 18.00CET on Saturday. Tami points to their elimination in qualifying of Italy and Germany respectively as evidence that nothing can be taken for granted. "That shows that they are teams that have qualities – and they all have a chance. Switzerland also have a chance."

Whatever unfolds, there is no hiding the growing anticipation, not least in the Belarus camp. Coach Georgi Kondratyev said: "The players are very interested in participating. I cannot speak for other countries, but here we give a lot of attention to the U21 team."

The same goes for Iceland, whose football association (KSÍ) president, Geir Thorsteinsson, said: "For us this is the first time we have qualified at this level, so it's a big achievement, and everyone is looking forward to the finals here in Denmark. It's a big thing in Iceland." High expectations then – now comes the time for these young talents to deliver.