Aidy Boothroyd hints his England Under-21 stars have missed a big opportunity after early Euro exit

Under pressure: Aidy Boothroyd insists he will not quit as England Under-21s boss despite a dismal Euro campaign
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Giuseppe Muro24 June 2019

Aidy Boothroyd has warned some of his England Under-21s flops they have missed a chance to show Gareth Southgate they are ready to make the step up to the senior side.

The Young Lions suffered a humiliating early exit on Friday after error-strewn defeats to France and Romania and will be heading home after playing Croatia on Monday night.

England manager Southgate has been in Italy and he will have been especially disappointed with the performance against Romania on Friday, which was littered with individual mistakes.

England have some fine prospects at this level - including Phil Foden, James Maddison, Mason Mount and Aaron Wan-Bissaka - and Southgate’s assistant, Steve Holland, said before the tournament that several of Boothroyd’s squad could play a key role in England’s Euro 2020 campaign.

But Boothroyd said: “We have not got what we wanted, clearly. The fact that Gareth is here, that the technical director Les [Reed] is here, it shows the pathway is clear.

"We want the players to get into the senior team and this is exactly the sort of examination they needed at a young age to see whether they can deal with it or not.

“But there are a lot of positives to come out of it, particularly for our younger players.”

For all the progress England’s senior side are making under Southgate, the age-group sides are enduring a tough season.

The U-17s went out at the group stage of their Euros, the U-19s did not even qualify for theirs and the U-20s failed to reach their World Cup.

Since the U-21s were knocked out, questions have been asked of former Watford manager Boothroyd, although he has insisted he will not quit his post.

“It is important that we pick the bones out if it and, clearly, if we are going to win a tournament like this, there are things we have to improve upon,” he said.

“There are things that have gone really, really well and things that we have to improve upon. I am not going anywhere — they will have to carry me out.”

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