England U21 vs Netherlands U21. European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group D.
Carrow Road.
Thursday 6 September 2018 19:26, UK
England Under-21s host Netherlands at Carrow Road on Thursday, knowing a win will put them on the verge of a Euro 2019 spot.
Aidy Boothroyd's men already hold a five-point lead over the Dutch at the top of qualifying Group Four, and would go eight ahead with only three games remaining if they win at Norwich's home ground.
Senior manager Gareth Southgate resisted temptation to include some of the more senior U21 players such as Tammy Abraham, Demarai Gray and Dominic Solanke in his main squad - despite two of those three receiving call-ups last year.
Abraham, in particular, has seen his career stall since a 26-goal loan spell at Championship side Bristol City two seasons ago, and scored only five league goals for Swansea, another loan club from his parent side Chelsea, in 2017/18.
But Boothroyd is confident the forward can get his future back on track, as he looks to lead the line and all-but seal qualification to next year's Euros in Italy and San Marino.
He said: "We have an individual plan for all of [our players] and see where they are every six months.
"There is work going on behind the scenes on who is doing well, who is doing not so well and who is having adversity in their career.
"Tammy might be part of that but he's got to fight his way back. That is part of any players' toolkit. Mistakes happen and you've got to be able to live with them and move on and turn them into positives."
Boothroyd should have a full team to choose from for Thursday's game, even with Solanke called up to train with the England senior squad because of Raheem Sterling's withdrawal through injury.
