Brian Kerr's Republic of Ireland under-16s are just 80 minutes away from yet another final, and a possible meeting with England. The last game of the group stages of the Nordic Cup is against Norway in Dalvik, northern Iceland this evening.

Kerr has been pleased with the first impressions of his latest batch of under-16 hopefuls, but stresses that this tournament is mainly about looking at what he's got before the qualifiers for next year's European Championship.

"Both games have gone well and I was particularly pleased with the win over Denmark in the first match," said Kerr. "Iceland was a little disappointing in that we couldn't break them down to score more goals."

It would be unfair to compare this group of players with last season's side that won the European Championship.

"We're really only finding out about them at the moment and that's why this tournament is ideal," he said. "This squad will definitely improve when they get back to full training at their clubs.

"The squad is sound defensively and strong up front, but it perhaps doesn't have the guile in midfield that the team that won in Scotland had. It doesn't have a Liam Miller there yet."

Right-back David Van Zanten strained a calf muscle against Iceland but has recovered and Kerr has a full-strength panel to pick from for the match which kicks off at 6 p.m.

"We've juggled the team around so far and we'll do the same again in the next two matches and give everyone a chance to show what they can do," said Kerr. "That's the most important thing about a competition like this.

"It's been very worthwhile and great experience for the players."