GROUP A
Denmark
Expectations for the Danish Under-21 team have never been so high with experts calling it the best the country has ever produced. And there might actually be something in the hype.
Almost all players are regulars for their clubs and they are all familiar with the system the team plays – the Ajax-style 4-3-3. Behind all this is the senior men’s coach, Morten Olsen, who implemented a strategy (The Red Thread) back in 2007 where all the youth teams, the U21s, U19s, U18s, U17s and so on, use the same formation. The coaches are allowed to change it if they feel necessary but the philosophy behind the tactics remains the same.
So every player on the pitch knows his duties and has been educated in the spirit of keeping possession. The team’s results speak for themselves: they finished top of their qualifying group ahead of Russia, having won eight of their 10 games and drawn two.
The team’s aim is to get to at least the semis and should have a good chance of doing so considering that seven of the players have already played for the seniors. Klaus Eriksen, Jyllands-Posten
Scouts will keep an eye on: Jannick Westergaard (Club: Werder Bremen. Position: central defender. Likely transfer fee: €3m), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Bayern Munich, midfielder, €5m). Lasse Vigen Christensen (Fulham, midfielder, €1m)
Germany
Germany’s record has been surprisingly poor at under-21 level since a side containing half a dozen future World Cup heroes such as Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels and Mesut Özil beat Stuart Pearce’s Young Lions 4-0 in the Malmö final to claim the title in 2009. This year, Horst Hrubesch’s Germany are widely-rated favourites to win the competition once more. The 3-2 defeat against England in the last pre-tournament friendly in March has done little to douse expectations, as Joachim Löw has made a conscious decision to call up only Mario Götze and Shkodran Mustafi of those still eligible to represent the under-21s. The striker Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim) and the World Cup winner Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund) didn’t take demotion badly, however: they’re committed to help Germany at least qualify for the Rio Olympics with a quarter-final finish.
The favoured formation is 4-3-2-1 and in classic German fashion, intrigue surrounds the goalkeeping position. Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen) and the Champions League winner Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) famously do not get on too well and a few months ago, Hrubesch had been expected to take only one of them to the Czech Republic. But they are both in the squad, and Ter Stegen’s impressive showing in the Berlin final against Juventus might have done just enough to displace his rival. Raphael Honigstein
The scouts will keep an eye on: Johannes Geis (Mainz 05, midfielder, €7m), Robin Knoche (Wolfsburg, defender, €7m) and Nico Schulz (Hertha BSC, defender, €3m)
Serbia
The Serbian team is back at the finals after a six-year absence following a shock play-off win over the 2013 champions, Spain. A lot has changed since those dramatic games, however. First of all, the coach has left, Radovan Curcic being promoted to the senior men’s team after their disastrous start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, replacing Dick Advocaat.
His replacement, Mladen Dodic, does not have a lot of international experience and he will be without several key players, such as Matija Nastasic (Schalke) and Lazar Markovic (Liverpool), as they struggled to get clearance from their clubs. In addition, Aleksandar Mitrović (Anderlecht) is injured while several players who would have been included are playing in the Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
What is left is an inexperienced yet old team (the oldest in the tournament), led by three standout talents: the winger Filip Kostic, who got late clearance from Stuttgart to go to the tournament and is expected to be the star of the team; Filip Duricic, the Benfica player who spent last season on loan at Southampton; and Milos Jojic of Borussia Dortmund. Serbia will line-up in a defensive-minded 4-2-3-1 formation, hoping to target their opponents on the counterattack and set pieces. Vladimir Novakovic, Sport Klub
The scouts will keep an eye on: Filip Duricic (Benfica, attacking midfielder, €5m), Milos Jojic (Borussia Dortmund, midfielder, €2.5m), Uros Spajic (Toulouse, defender, €4.5m)
Czech Republic
Jakub Dovalil’s team have had to prepare for this competition without any competitive games and that may well turn out to be the main problem for the hosts. Dovalil has not been able to pick any players from the senior team during this period of time and so has not been able to work out his best starting XI.
The main problem appears to be up front. Dovalil has complained that the forwards at his disposal are not playing enough or scoring enough for their club sides. Vaclav Kadlec, who has been loaned out to Sparta from Frankfurt, has only played for the under-21s once in the past two years.
This is related to the team’s tactics. The Czech team has a problem with the build-up to attack. The goalkeeper often rolls the ball out to a defender but from there it is often a long ball up front. There is a lack of invention in the team and they often rely on those long balls landing at the right feet (or head).
However, the team has got several impressive players and Dovalil will be able to count on high quality youngsters such as Kadlec, Pavel Kaderabek and Ladislav Krejci for the tournament. They should improve the quality of this squad and may just be enough to qualify for the last four. Jan Podrouzek, Denik Sport
The scouts will keep an eye on: Vaclav Kadlec (Eintracht Frankfurt, forward, €2m), Pavel Kaderabek (Sparta Prague, defender, €2,5m), Tomas Kalas (Chelsea, defender, €2,5m)
GROUP B
Italy
Luigi Di Biagio’s tenure with the Azzurrini did not get off to a promising start. He lost his first competitive game at home to Belgium, and Italy’s hopes of even reaching Euro 2015 seemed to be fading as they spent the first 66 minutes of their next fixture trapped at 0-0 against Cyprus.
The deadlock was finally broken by Francesco Fedato, but the Modena striker (then at Bari) has since been squeezed out by more exciting prospects. Domenico Berardi, previously suspended from the national team set-up for failing to respond to an under-19 call-up, was brought into the fold last year. He has scored 31 goals over the past two seasons for Sassuolo in Serie A, but so far only one playing out wide in Di Biagio’s 4-2-3-1.
Palermo’s Andrea Belotti leads the line, and also led the team with six goals in qualifying, but Italy are more robust at the other end of the pitch. Daniele Rugani is a nascent star at centre-back, who started all 38 games this season for an Empoli team that surpassed all expectations. Club form is not everything to Di Biagio, however. He has thus far kept faith with Francesco Bardi in goal despite the player being dropped by Chievo and the presence of strong alternatives in Marco Sportiello and Nicola Leali. Paolo Bandini
Scouts will keep an eye on: Andrea Belotti (Palermo, striker, €8.5m), Domenico Berardi (co-owned by Juventus and Sassuolo, €20m), Daniele Rugani (Empoli, centre-back, €11m).
England
Much of the focus has been on England’s striking riches – Saido Berahino, who finished the season in fine form for West Bromwich and was the leading scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, the Liverpool-bound Danny Ings and, of course, Harry Kane – but there is a huge amount of strength in other areas. In midfield Tom Carroll, James Ward-Prowse and Will Hughes provide the control, Nathan Redmond and Nathaniel Chalobah the penetration, while the defence, led by Everton’s John Stones (one of five members of the squad to have already won caps with the senior squad), conceded only four times in qualifying – the best defensive record in the continent. That emphatic qualifying campaign – nine wins and a draw, followed by two wins over Croatia in the play-offs – coupled with friendly victories over Germany and Portugal mean Gareth Southgate’s side go into the tournament with sky-high expectations. But, for once, they might just be realistic. John Ashdown
Scouts will keep an eye on: Harry Kane (forward, Tottenham, €40m), Saido Berahino (forward, West Brom, €27m), John Stones (defender, Everton, €24m)
Portugal
This team arrives with confidence high, having won all of their last 10 games. In fact, the squad is in such a good shape that the coach, Rui Jorge, was able to leave out names such as Bruno Fernandes, the young prospect at Udinese, as well as the talented Bruma, who plays for Galatasaray.
The squad will be missing André Gomes, the promising Valencia midfielder because of injury and Manchester City’s Rony Lopes, who has spent the season on loan at Lille, has gone to New Zealand for the Under-20 World Cup.
Portugal are full of confidence but also fully aware that they are in a difficult group with Italy, England and Sweden (who knocked out France).
The problem for the team is a familiar one: the focal point of attack. However, Rui Jorge will be delighted that Gonçalo Paciência, son of the former Porto and Portugal striker Domingos Paciência, is available again after recovering from injury. The striker will have the company of big names such as Tiago Ilori (Liverpool), William Carvalho (Sporting), Rúben Neves (Porto), João Mário (Sporting) and Bernardo Silva (Monaco), playing in the traditional 4-3-3. They will be hard to beat. Nuno Travassos, Maisfutebol
Scouts will keep an eye on: Rúben Neves (Porto, midfielder, €20m), William Carvalho (Sporting, midfielder, €25m), Bernardo Silva (Monaco, midfielder, €20m)
Sweden
Sweden qualified for the championship by beating France in a dramatic play-off where the Swedes came from behind to score the winning goal in the final minutes of the second game. That spirit is the trademark of a tightly-knit group of players who work hard for each other and their coach, Hakan Ericson. In a group with England, Portugal and Italy, Sweden are - and consider themselves – as the underdogs. Sweden play in a 4-4-2 formation with overlapping full-backs while the wide midfielders often move towards the centre of the pitch.
Before this tournament questions have been raised regarding the central line of the team as neither Alexander Milosevic (Besiktas), Oscar Hiljemark (PSV Eindhoven) nor John Guidetti (Celtic) have been playing regularly for their clubs during the spring. In the supposed starting XI, six of the players have made their debut for the senior team.
Andréas Sundberg and Sven Bertil Liljegren, fotbollskanalen.se
Scouts will keep an eye on: John Guidetti (Manchester City, forward, free), Ludwig Augustinsson (FC Copenhagen, defender, €800,000), Robin Quaison (Palermo, midfielder, €1.5m)
