England U21 v China U21 preview: Aidy Boothroyd's side seek third straight Toulon title
Friday 25 May 2018 14:39, UK
England's U21s head to France seeking a third straight Toulon title but manager Aidy Boothroyd insists the pressure is off.
Boothroyd's squad are out to add to a string of recent successes for England's youth teams when they open the tournament against China in Aubagne on Saturday.
The U17s and U20s won their respective World Cups last year, while the U19s triumphed at Euro 2017.
England were also crowned at the Toulon Tournament in 2016 and 2017 and while Boothroyd admitted big strides have been made, he is wary of labelling a new crop.
"It's not a platinum generation...I wouldn't say it's a golden generation but we have got more depth than we've ever had which is really, really important," he told the Press Association. "Just getting them in the Premier League is a big thing.
"Dan (Ashworth, the Football Association's technical director) has taken it to another level there's no doubt about that, with the people he's brought in and the systems we've now got in place.
"The relationships with the clubs have never been better and if you have played and beaten teams globally then why not be able to do it when you're older? It's taken five years to get to this point."
Tammy Abraham and Lewis Cook, who earned senior caps this season, are the most experienced in Boothroyd's squad.
But Bournemouth's Aaron Ramsdale and Chelsea's Jay Dasilva won Euro 2017, while eight of the players who started the U20 World Cup final win over Venezuela last year - including Cook, Jonjoe Kenny and Kyle Walker-Peters - are in.
Ronaldo Vieira and Harvey Barnes were also part of the victorious squad in Toulon last year.
Boothroyd is without Liverpool winger Ovie Ejaria after he pulled out injured on Friday, with Everton's Callum Connolly called up.
After taking on China, the Young Lions will face Mexico in Salon on Tuesday and Qatar - in their final Group A game - in Fos-Sur-Mer on Friday, June 1.
Boothroyd added: "Qatar are an emerging nation and the Mexicans are always very good at all youth levels."
