Under-19 coach Toni Karacic joined the Bosnia and Herzegovina national cadet team staff at the 2017 European Championship. This expert from Siroki Brijeg comments the first round and the atmosphere in BiH cadet team:

"We didn't start the championship like we wanted, because the opponent is one of the favorites for the winning title. The Germans were better, they imposed their pace and in the end deserved to win. It's good that we played the first game against them, we have to draw lessons from it, and more importantly - focus on the duels with Ireland and Serbia. We must not deceive ourselves that these are easy opponents, however we can hope for better results against them.

It's important the atmosphere remained positive. Staff is doing an excellent job; with individual and group talks we motivated the players quickly after that difficult match. I think the team is ready for the next two games."

BiH junior team was also close to qualifying for the European Championship this year, but the Bulgaria was more successful. Toni Karacic considers that a great experience for his team members:

"We were very close to the major football competition. Still, it was a good experience for our juniors and us. In the end we lost to Bulgaria, who managed to beat Portugal, Denmark and France, and they really deserved to go to the European Championship."