"Reaching the final is a wonderful achievement and I would like to congratulate Martin Hunter and the players," Sven told TheFA.com. "They played extremely well, and this is a much-deserved reward for their consistently excellent form."

England dominated their semi-final against the highly-rated Serbia and Montenegro side, turning in easily their best performance of the tournament so far.

Sven continued: "It is very encouraging to see young England players showing such maturity and confidence. I know from seeing many of them in action in the Premiership last season that they are a very talented squad.

"Certainly they are following in the footsteps of some great players, because the last England team to win this competition included Paul Scholes, Sol Campbell, Gary Neville, Robbie Fowler and Nicky Butt. It would be wonderful if these players go on to have similarly successful careers."

Hunter's side now take on France in Friday's final at Windsor Park in a replay of the tournament's opening game.

"Let's hope they can become European Champions on Friday," Sven said. "I am really looking forward to being at the game and cheering them on."