U21 Euros: England and Aidy Boothroyd out to lay some ghosts to rest at European Championship

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Aidy Boothroyd and his England Under-21s are out to lay some ghosts to rest at the European Championship. 

While the England senior side gear up for their own major tournament with World Cup qualifiers this month, the Young Lions are wasting no time. The group stage of the tournament starts in Slovenia and Hungary this evening and England kick-off their campaign against Switzerland tomorrow, bidding to qualify for the knockout phase which will be held in the summer.

England suffered a humiliating early exit in 2019 when a talented squad that included Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin managed just one point from their three group matches.

They had arrived with high hopes, but a winless, error-prone campaign raised serious questions over the development — or lack of it — of the next generation of English talent.

Two years on and a new crop of players, which includes Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Emile Smith Rowe, of Arsenal, look capable of challenging.

“I’m not sure it’s a stronger group,” said manager Boothroyd, who faced fierce criticism in 2019 but was backed by the FA to lead another cycle. “It’s certainly different in terms of the personality of the group. 

“I’m really look forward to it. These tournaments are really exciting. For me, it will be the third one. 

“We didn’t get out of the group last time, but the time before that we went out on penalty kicks from reaching the final.

“We’ve not won a tournament since 1984, so we want to exorcise that ghost, for sure, but we’re not disrespectful in terms of the quality of opposition.”

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
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In a tournament expanded from 12 to 16 teams this year, England have been drawn in a group alongside Portugal, Croatia and Switzerland.

“Our group has been named the group of death, but that’s great,” said Boothroyd. “It’s what these young players want, to play the best in Europe.”

“It’s a really important to get a good start in any knockout competition,” added Marc Guehi, the Chelsea defender on loan at Swansea.

“The first game is very important and we will be looking to win the game. No team in the group is an easy team to play against. Everyone is here for a reason and it’s going to be a good test versus Switzerland but we have our heads down and all focused on the game.”

There are just two survivors from the horrendous showing of 2019 in Ryan Sessegnon and Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly, while Boothroyd has a number of players on the up to call upon. Smith Rowe has had a transformative impact at Arsenal, while PSV Eindhoven youngster Noni Madueke is another who could provide a touch of magic.

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