Markó gears up for kick off

By Márton Dinnyés

Hosts Hungary are completing their fine-tuning for the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship, with coach Edina Markó believing the finals debutants can prove a handful for the opposition.

German opener
Hungary begin their campaign next Wednesday in Buk against the world champions at this level, Germany, before meetings with their other Group A rivals Finland and Switzerland. Markó, a former women's senior international, says her team are prepared for the challenge. Markó said: "We have almost completed our plans."

Training camp
The squad's build-up has included a one-week training camp in Szombathely, where they were put through their paces by coaches and had sessions with doctors and psychologists. "I wanted to observe the players from as many points of view as possible before I picked the final squad of 18," Markó said.

Friendly matches
With the games against Germany and the Swiss in mind, Hungary played two friendlies in Szombathely, beating German third division side FC Stern but losing 6-1 to Austrian champions FC Neulengbach. "As we start against Germany and will play Switzerland as well we wanted to get experience of the German style," said Markó.

Counterattacking tactics
Playing on the break will be key, the coach added. "We have a few quick players - Réka Jakab, Veronika Tájmel and Gabriella Tóth - who have played a lot of matches for the national team and have experience of how to beat the opponent's defence with quick counterattacks."

Saturday meeting
Markó's side assemble in Buk on Saturday for the finals, which run from 20-31 July.