The BH cadets will try to reach the finals in the group with Spain, Estonia and Belgium.

Head coach Nermin Šabić says about the opponents:

“All teams that achieve qualification for the elite qualifying round are strong, and in our group are national teams of countries that invest a lot in youth football. It is certain that we could have done better in the draw. Belgium was defeated by Luxembourg in the first qualifying round, which may be an indication that they can be played. Whether it was their bad day or Luxembourg was strong, we will see, but the Belgians have quality. Estonia was the first in its qualifying group and it is a team that should not be underestimated, and words should not be wasted on Spain, they are one of the best national teams at this age. The group is tough and I hope that our players will work hard in these three months and be ready to deal with the qualifying tournament. We will try to present our country in the best possible way.”

Šabić also referred to the first round of qualifications:

“Before the tournament itself, we faced problems, because we lacked several players and that bothered us a little. However, as time went on, the guys played better and better and we can be happy with their performances. Although we were defeated by Switzerland in the third round, we played that match very well and we had the field initiative for all 90 minutes. We tried to make a team that will dominate through possession and we succeeded with that against Gibraltar and Switzerland. In the match with Finland, we had to adjust to the opponent, because of their physical predispositions, so they had more than a game, but we achieved a draw. We try to select players who can create opportunities through possession, but also to play on the counter-attacks, when the situation on the pitch requires it.”

The BH cadets also faced problems through the preparations for the matches:

“The aggravating circumstance in friendly matches is that we often cannot count on players from the diaspora then, and they are very important for this team. The home players performed well and we managed to choose the best for the tournament. However, they are often not in good shape. On the other hand, players from abroad play in strong leagues and mean a lot to this team. In the end, everyone we invited, both from our league and from abroad, justified our expectations and proved to be good in the qualifying matches”, says Šabić.

In the qualifications for the European Championship 2022/23, opponents of the BH U-17 national team will be Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.

“Thanks to the results of previous generations, we were the winners in that draw and I believe that we will continue to achieve good results with the cadet national team. We have enough time to get ready, to play a lot of friendly matches and make a team that will achieve the results we want”, said Nermin Šabić.