U-17 European Championship draw “Albania 2025”/ Coach Tedesco: All rivals are strong

2025-04-01 14:36:00, Sport CNA

U-17 European Championship draw “Albania 2025”/ Coach Tedesco: All

The coach of the U-17 National Team, Andrea Tedesco, spoke to the media after the draw of the European Championship, where Albania learned its opponents in Group A. The Red and Blacks will face France, Germany and Portugal, while coach Tedesco praised the high level of the participating teams, emphasizing that every opponent in the group would be a difficult challenge.

He also expressed his pride in representing Albania in this tournament and emphasized that the team will give its best in every match. The U-17 National Team Coach also spoke about the importance of team identity and the objectives of player development in this elite competition.

Draw? – We spoke with colleagues about this issue before. All the rivals in the group are quite strong. Whatever team our opponent in the group had been, it would have been difficult, because there are 7 strong teams coming from the federation that invests a lot in youth football.

Facing Italy? – As an Italian, it would have been nice to have faced Italy, but at this stage where we are, all the teams are great and we will have great challenges ahead. I am here to represent the Albanian Football Federation and I bear a weight of responsibility to represent this country as best as possible, both in terms of football, but also in the essence of the tournament.

Who would you like to face from Group B? – If I had to choose a team, I would say Italy. This is a unique event, I am pleased and proud to represent Albania and I am sure that all the players will give their maximum. They will enter the field to do their best and to represent the nation.

What should players consider in the European Championship? – It is very important to evaluate the representation we have in such cases. In youth football, representation and the way you perform on the field is what is evaluated, not the result. It will not be difficult to motivate the players, because they will be very proud to enter the field to represent their country. We need to have some kind of identity, so that those who look at us from the outside can notice the growth of this team. The players who will participate in this competition will continue to have some kind of professional growth and should be proud of the investment that has been made by the Federation.

The composition of the players in the European? – In this aspect I am very happy, because I had the opportunity to have many players under observation. We will choose those who are the best, not only for this competition, but also for the future of other age groups after U-17. When we talk about young people, it is very easy to make a mistake, because in 6 months or a year there can be a great evolution in a player. It is very different from what you can see at the moment. Together with the staff and the Technical Director, we will try to make the right choices for players who will also be part of the team in the future, but who will also be in the best physical and footballing conditions for this competition.