England U21 vs Poland U21 preview: In-form Young Lions ramp up Euro 2019 preparations
Thursday 21 March 2019 08:21, UK
England U21s come into their home friendly with Poland on Thursday on a run of 18 games unbeaten under Aidy Boothroyd.
The Young Lions host Poland at Ashton Gate in Bristol on Thursday night as they begin to ramp up preparations for the upcoming European Championships in Italy and San Marino this summer.
Coming into the game manager Boothroyd, whose side were eliminated by Germany on penalties at the semi-final stage of the last Euros in 2017, said he had been encouraged by the number of players coming through the ranks who had been getting game-time - with some looking further afield than domestic options.
Of his current squad, Reiss Nelson is on a season-long loan at Bundesliga side Hoffenheim while defender Jake Clarke-Salter is at Vitesse in the Netherlands, with the pair making a combined 39 league appearances in the top flight so far this season.
He said: "Our aim is to get as many of our players playing in the Premier League as we can. As it's happened, foreign clubs have tried to take the best English talent produced by English coaches.
"We have got to the situation now where players have got the opportunity to go and play abroad or stick at their clubs and battle it out. Generally the bigger the club, the more difficult it is to break in.
"We can see that the talent and quality is absolutely there and there is even more coming up behind this group.
"It is a good time for English football but they need that examination at the end of the week so you can understand why they start thinking about different options. They want to play football and that should be applauded."
Team news
Aside from losing Callum Hudson-Odoi to England's senior squad earlier in the week, Boothroyd should have a fully-fit squad to choose from for the visit of Poland.
