Nathan Delfouneso believes England Under 21s are ready to take the next step and win the European Championship.
England U21s forward confident of winning trophy
Nathan Delfouneso believes England Under 21s are ready to take the next step and win the European Championship.
Stuart Pearce has steered previous sides to semi-final and runner-up finishes at the last two tournaments and will be looking to emerge victorious in Denmark this summer.
Aston Villa forward Delfouneso is confident the Young Lions are capable of coming out on top against the finest the continent has to offer.
"We're here to win it," he said. "Over the past couple of years, we've gone from bronze to silver and now we believe it's time to go and get the gold and bring back the trophy.
"It is about progression but we also really want to win it as well, and that's the aim for everyone here."
England's hopes of taking that final step have been hit by the withdrawal of key players such as Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Micah Richards and Kieran Gibbs, all of whom have senior experience.
"Jack's not here and it's been well documented about the players that are not here," Delfouneso said.
"But we're all very comfortable with everyone that's here, we're all quality players and we all believe that we can push together and go and bring back the trophy."
Spanish test
Delfouneso may not have even made the squad had Carroll been fully fit and he looks like playing only a bit-part role in Denmark, with Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and even Scott Sinclair ahead of him in the pecking order.
"We've got some quality strikers here but I'm trying to push myself to be the one that's playing up there," said the 20-year-old, who has eight caps.
"It's tough competition but I'll keep trying to impress and keep trying to get myself into that team."
A substitute role beckons in Sunday's mouth-watering Group B opener against Spain, who boast World Cup and UEFA Champions League winners in their ranks and who look England's biggest rivals for the title.
Delfouneso said: "I really like Spanish football and I do watch it a lot.
"I do know some of the players they've got there and they do have a lot of quality.
"But we've got to believe in ourselves that we've got quality players as well and we can go and put in a great performance and we can go and beat them.
"It doesn't matter who they've got or who they've brought. It's down to us to go and concentrate on what we want to do."
