Ten Under-19 sides will contest the European Division 2 championship in the Isle of Man this week, a pathway event for the 2014 Under-19 World Cup.

The tournament will be played in two five-team groups, with cross-over semi-finals and a final.

In Group A Germany, who finished last out of seven teams in the last tournament two years ago, will be hoping for a big improvement this time. Unlike many of the competing teams to have played in the Division One Twenty20 championship, none of their squad played in that tournament. Captain Steven Richards captained Germany Under-17s to 7th place in the Division Two tournament last year in the Isle of Man.

Gibraltar contain two players who played in the Channel Islands, as well as other players who have played for the national side such as Julian Freyone. They are coached by national team member Mark Bacarese. Gibraltar are going through a rebuilding phase at the moment after the retirement of a number of their long serving players, so this tournament will be a key part of that rebuilding.

Hosts the Isle of Man were runners-up the last time this tournament was played two years ago, and will be hoping to go one better this time out. Home advantage could be key, as it was last year when they hosted and won the Under-17 Division Two championship. A number of that team have now graduated to the Under-19 team, including Daniel Hawke, who has played for the Lancashire Academy side this year.

Italy will no doubt be inspired by their senior side's performance in reaching the global Twenty20 qualifier, and former Lancashire and South Australia player Joe Scuderi will also be coaching this side, bringing a great deal of experience.

Spain are the only team in the competition not to have had their senior side play in the Channel Islands last week, but they are not to be underestimated. They finished fourth in the Under-17 Division Two tournament on the Isle of Man last year, narrowly losing to France in a play-off, and retain several of that squad for this event.

Favourites in Group B will be defending champions Belgium, four of whose squad, including seamers Faisal Khaliq and Waqas Shafiq, played in the Division 1 Twenty20 championship in Jersey. They will be captained by batsman Sebastian Shukla, who is one of three survivors of the 2009 title-winning side.

They will face a strong challenge, however, from Denmark, who have dropped down from Division 1 and whose squad includes three members of the Danish side which won the European Twenty20 title on Sunday. They are Hamid Shah, Kamran Mahmood and Raja Basit Javed, and the side will be coached by former Western Australian off-spinner Brett Mulder.

France will also be a side to watch, and they will be very keen in improve on the fourth place they achieved in 2009. Captain Thomas Liddiard is one of five survivors of that squad, and one of four who played in the Twenty20 tournament. Zika Ali, indeed, shared the title of leading wicket-taker in that competition, with 15 wickets.

Israel finished one place below France last time, and three members of that side return this time. They will be coached by Herschel Gutman, who was captain of the Israeli team which played in the Channel Islands, and four of that side will accompany him to the Isle of Man.

One pleasing feature of the tournament will be the debut of Norway at European youth level, and all the more so because the majority of their squad are Norwegian-born. Captained by Danish Ashfaq, they will be something of an unknown quantity, and they will no doubt be seeking to emulate the rapid progress made by the Norwegian senior team when it first made its appearance in European competition.