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Boothroyd expects his Young Lions to thrive in tough European Championship group

Boothroyd expects his Young Lions to thrive in tough European Championship group
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England Under-21s have been drawn against France, Romania and Croatia.

England Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd says being drawn with France, Romania and Croatia at next year's European Championship will bring the best out of his Young Lions.

Boothroyd's side will open their Italy 2019 campaign in Group C against France on June 18, before taking on Romania three days later and the Croatians on June 24.

England, who beat Denmark 5-1 on Tuesday, are among the favourites having qualified unbeaten. They were one of the top three seeds in the draw and thus avoided hosts Italy and defending champions Germany.

But France were also unbeaten in qualifying, as were Romania, while Croatia topped their group ahead of Greece and the Czech Republic.

"When you reel off the teams it's certainly not going to be easy but if we are going to keep our momentum going it's a group we are looking to get out of," Under-21 boss Boothroyd told Press Association Sport.

"When we start being one of the favourites, and we're seeded, there is an expectation that comes with that, but that's good. You need an opponent to bring the best out of you and these three certainly will.

"It's a tough one but it's one that, all being well, is not beyond our control."

The Championship begins just 10 days after the senior squad play in the Nations League semi-finals, which Boothroyd admits could impact his squad selection with Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate continually looking to promote youth.

"It has a big effect because we want to win at senior level, that's always the priority," added Boothroyd.

"But we don't have to name a squad until 10 days before the first game and a lot can happen between now and then be it fitness, form, injury, Gareth taking players, all kinds of things.

"As time rolls on we'll see who's in the play-offs, who's in the Champions League, who's in the Premier League and just plan as much as we can before we get down to the business of playing.

"We're in a fortunate position; we're in a good run of form, we have good players, some depth, and England are going into tournaments as potential winners.

"We go into every game and every tournament looking to win it – but there's another 11 teams that are going to try to stop us.

Group A pits Italy against Spain, Poland and Belgium while Group B consists of Germany, Denmark and Austria. The final takes place on June 30.

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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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