England Under-21s back in training ahead of play-off

The Three Lions play the first leg at Molineux on Friday evening, before travelling to Vinkovci for the deciding second game on Tuesday 14 October.

After reporting to St. George’s Park on Sunday evening, the squad were back working together on their normal training pitch in wet and windy conditions.

With the news of Calum Chambers joining the senior squad following an injury to John Stones in the weekend’s Premier League game, Southgate has a 22-man group at his disposal.

Following their involvement in club games on Sunday, Luke Shaw, Carl Jenkinson, Eric Dier and Jamaal Lascelles all took part in a separate recovery session.

But for the rest, it was training under Southgate and his assistant coach Steve Holland who put the players through a session featuring some keep-ball, shooting and team work to get them back into the groove.

"It’s the first day of training in preparation for the play-off with Croatia, and it’s the usual thing as we have a few boys who played on Sunday and a few on Saturday, so the group is split on the first day," explained Southgate.

"This is partly for a recovery session and then those who haven’t played at the weekend will do a bit more today. 

"So it’s really a case of getting the lads back in and seeing how they are physically."

The winners of the two-legged tie with Croatia will progress to the last eight of the competition and the Finals in Czech Republic in July 2015.

Tickets for Friday’s game in Wolverhampton are priced at just £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. 

To purchase your ticket, call 0871 222 1877 or click here.