[monks data]

European Under-21s Championship | Qualifiers

Oct 10, 2014 at 5.45pm UK

England U21s England Under-21s
2-1
Croatia U21s Croatia Under-21s

Kane (58'), Berahino (85' pen.)

FT(HT: 0-1)

Livaja (13')

Gareth Southgate: 'England Under-21s return good for Luke Shaw'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 07 October 2014

England Under-21s boss Gareth Southgate believes that Luke Shaw's return to the youth set-up from the senior side will be good for the Manchester United defender.

England Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate has insisted that Luke Shaw's return to the youth set-up will be a good thing for the player.

Shaw was included in the U21s squad for the crucial Euro 2015 playoff against Croatia despite recently having made his debut for the senior side.

The likes of Calum Chambers and Raheem Sterling are still with Roy Hodgson's team despite being eligible for the U21s, but Southgate believes that the experience will help the Manchester United left-back.

"Leighton Baines did really well last month, so would Luke start for the seniors this time around? What's the best experience for him? I think certainly from his club perspective playing two matches would be good because he has not had a lot of football. I know Louis van Gaal was very positive to him about it. Also, having been manager of a national team and spoken so much about the importance of the Under-21s in preparation for the Dutch last summer, I didn't think we were going to have an issue from the club," Southgate told reporters.

"Then you're thinking where's the player with it because his world has changed a lot since we had him last November. He has played as many matches this campaign as our other left-backs, but his world has changed considerably. But he has been brilliant. Roy spoke to him, which I think was important, I then spoke to him before we met up and a really good chat since we got here.

"He is looking forward to the game. Yes, he played at the World Cup, he has played friendlies for the seniors, but he has only got three caps for us. So although he is making brilliant progress in his career, he is not the finished article so experiences like this can only help him."

Meanwhile, Southgate also expressed his belief that Sterling would be better off staying with Hodgson's side, despite former U21s boss Stuart Pearce claiming otherwise.