Switzerland's recent successes in junior football continued on Thursday with the country's under-17 team reaching the quarter-finals of the European Championships in Denmark.

Although Switzerland's senior team have not managed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1996 European Championships, the performances of both the under-17 and under-21 teams have given the country's football fans some hope for the future.

Later this month Switzerland are hosting the under-21 European Championships after qualifying for the event for the first time in the country's footballing history.

Before Bernard Challandes young team step out in Zurich though, Markus Frei's even younger side are hoping to make some headlines of their own.

On Thursday, the under-17s booked their place in the final eight with a 2-1 win over France.

The victory, secured thanks to first half goals from FC Zurich's Sandro Burki and Kriens' Slavisa Dugic, marked the Swiss team's third win at the Danish tournament following earlier triumphs over Ukraine and Portugal.

The Swiss are now set to play Georgia on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals.

swissinfo with agencies

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative