Spain a real test for Irish

If the Republic of Ireland's achievements of last summer, when Brian Kerr's sides won both the European Under-16 and Under-18 championships, have ensured our teams are respected wherever they go these days, they are still somewhat overshadowed by the recent form of the Spanish.

Under former senior international Inaki Saez, Ireland's opponents in their opening match of this season's European Youth championships in Sweden have been unstoppable in every event they have competed at in recent times.

Like Kerr, Saez had a decent enough summer last year: his side won the European Under-21 title. Since then, however, the Spanish have confirmed their position as the world beaters of the underage game by winning the Meridian Cup in South Africa, the recent Under-16 Europeans in the Czech Republic and, most impressively, the World Youth Championship in Nigeria.

Two of that squad are here this week, and, while the Irish boss has five of last year's gold medal-winning squad and three of the panel that won in Scotland, Saez has the guts of the team that took the Under-16 title the year before.

The Spanish manager is well aware of the work that has gone into providing him with such an array of talent. "Part of the key to our success," he said after arriving in Linkoping for this week's tournament, "is the excellent work being done by our clubs who are picking up players at nine or 10 years of age and putting them into their youth systems.

"We have been working with these particular players as a group since they were 15, which is a great help, and it just so happens that we are going through a very fertile period at the moment."

Kerr, of course, would say the same thing about his group and, while they have not had quite as many games together in the build-up to the tournament as he would have liked, he is happy with the way the preparations have gone.

"Overall things have been good, and what we've just been working on since we got here is the element of pressing, of closing them down and breaking quickly, because we know from experience (the nations have met four times at various underage levels, with two wins apiece, over the last two years) the problems that the Spanish can cause you if you let them pass it around in midfield.

"I think we had it right in that session and it's helped me a lot in terms of resolving the one or two questions that were still going around in my head," added the Irish coach, who will let his players know his starting 11 when they train again this morning.

Definitely in will be the likes of Middlesbrough's Jason Gavin, Colin Healy of Celtic and Gary Doherty, the Luton player who will be playing in these finals for the third successive year.

"I think that's some achievement," remarked Kerr, "and I'm not sure when it will be done again with the way these things are going. It's great as well that Gary's playing so well at the moment, he looks to be in great form, and some of what we have been doing here on the training pitch has been to do with getting the lads to vary the way they use him - yeah, sure, play it through the midfield, but sometimes look to pick him out early, too, and let him be the focus of things."

Perhaps the most interesting question facing Kerr is who to play up front with Doherty. In the qualification play-off in Belfast, Trevor Fitzpatrick seemed to strike up an immediate rapport with the Luton Town man, but then Graham Barrett has shown some strong pre-season form of late, scoring on his senior debut for Arsenal only last week.

On this occasion, however, Kerr has indicated that he will leave Doherty in the centre by himself while picking two wide players to supply him with crosses. There are three wingers to choose from, with Shelbourne's Richie Baker and the soon-to-be-former Home Farm man Padraig Drew being joined on this trip by Liverpool's Richie Partridge, who missed most of last season after being injured in one of the group qualifying games.

Perhaps even more important, though, will be the form of Gavin and co at the other end, for one thing that Kerr and Saez are definitely agreed on is that a defeat on day one is not the sort of platform from which international championships are generally won. And let's face it, they should know.